When she opened the door, Aqua found a staircase descending into deep darkness.
Her divine vision, however, let her see perfectly even in these conditions. So, she started running. And as she did, she couldn't stop thinking about Kaizer.
Had she done the right thing by leaving him to face that demon alone?
She was worried.
Not only because the paladin was essential for helping her pay off her massive debt, but also because of… well, other things that Aqua would rather die than admit.
"WAAH! What are you doing?! This is not the time to be thinking about that stuff!" she scolded herself. "Focus on the quest, Aqua! The quest! And the reward!"
The place definitely looked like a dungeon, just as Kaizer had guessed. But no matter how much she searched, every single cell was empty.
So if the kidnapped girls weren't locked up here, then where…?
"This is useless. I have to go back," she concluded. "Though I don't even know why I'm worrying so much. After all, maybe Kaizer is a little more reliable than Kazuma. I'm sure he has everything under control."
With that thought in mind, the Goddess of Water—now somewhat relieved—turned around and headed back.
***
The pain was sharp and stabbing, like hundreds of needles piercing my skin all at once. It burned like hell.
I tried to break free, but it was useless. My left arm was completely incapacitated. Maybe broken.
"I'll make you regret breaking into my castle and trying to take my women from me!" the demon snarled.
"Your women? Did I hear that right?" I asked, my body dangling from my arm like a pathetic rag doll. Just speaking made the pain spike. "Don't you think you're a bit old to be building a harem?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, paladin. I'm only 128 years old — I'm in the prime of my life!" Demian licked his lips maliciously. "And once I'm done with you, I'll head back to the city for more wives. Who knows…? This time I might even take someone… precious to you. Muahahaha!"
Precious to me…? He couldn't mean…
"You bastard… if you lay even one finger on Aqua, I'll—"
The demon narrowed his huge red eyes and looked at me like I was crazy.
"Huh? You mean that loud, screeching woman? As if I had such bad taste!"
Shit. That stung more than I wanted to admit.
But I couldn't let it get to me. Taking advantage of the moment, I raised my right arm and pointed Kronos straight at the demon's massive head.
"SLOW!" I roared at the top of my lungs.
This time, however, Demian was much faster. He jerked his head to the side and easily dodged the spell.
"HA! Slowing down time won't do you any good, paladin!" he mocked, tightening his grip on my arm even harder.
The scream of pain that tore out of me echoed through the entire room, only feeding the demon's growing sense of pleasure and victory.
"Oh? Does it hurt a lot? Don't worry, I'll rip both your arms off right now… and shove them up your ass."
My head felt like it was going to explode. Everything around me started fading to black.
"INFERNO!"
Someone shouted in the distance, snapping me back to reality.
The crushing pressure on my left arm vanished instantly. The next thing I knew, I hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.
"GAAH! You'll pay for this!"
When I looked up, Demian's arm was engulfed in flames. He shook it wildly, trying to extinguish them.
Glancing back, I saw Dikon still on the floor, arm extended, wearing a weak but satisfied smile. Our eyes met for the briefest moment before the young knight collapsed again.
Inferno was one of the most powerful advanced fire spells in existence, capable of incinerating everything around it and reducing it to ashes.
Being so close, that attack should have burned me alive too. But because Dikon's stats were so pitifully low, even his strongest spells only unleashed a fraction of their true power.
He must have known that and bet everything on that final desperate attack anyway.
I owe you one, Dikon!
"UAAAARRRGH!"
After finally putting out the flames, the Fang Demon dropped to his knees, clutching his head with both hands and screaming in agony.
What's happening? Did Dikon's attack actually hurt him?
Then, as I watched the demon writhe, Dikon's earlier words hit me like a bucket of ice water:
"The Fang Demon belongs to an ancient demonic family that reaches their true power when exposed to sunlight. However… they say it's a power so immense that even they cannot control it! That's why they prefer to stay in the darkness."
Now I understood. He must have been reaching his limit.
Knowing this was my only chance, I ran forward despite the electric pain shooting through my body. I jumped onto the demon's back while he was still on his knees.
Gripping Kronos with both hands (ignoring a fresh wave of agony), I prepared to drive the blade into the beast's neck.
"Huh?!"
My body suddenly lurched. I nearly dropped the sword and had to cling desperately to Demian's monstrous head, as if I was the protagonist of Shadow of the Colossus.
The demon thrashed violently, but I refused to let go. If I did, I was dead.
"GAAAAAAAAH!"
His furious roar shook the entire room. Then he spread a pair of wings as black as night, unleashing a powerful gust of wind strong enough to blow away even the sturdiest adventurer.
I felt a violent explosion followed by a rain of debris. When I finally opened my eyes, the floor of the room was now far below us, growing smaller and smaller until the entire castle lay beneath my feet.
The wind whipped across my face. In the distance, like a faint stain on the horizon, I could see the city of Axel touched by the first rays of dawn.
Then the demon's hand grabbed me from behind and ripped me off his back like I was nothing more than a flea.
"Aaaah… I feel a little better now," he chuckled through gritted teeth. "Maybe I just needed some fresh air. You know what, paladin? Right now I could simply let you go and let the fall kill you—smashing you into pieces like a wax doll. But that wouldn't satisfy me at all. So instead… I'll crush your head."
His ten long fingers closed around me, easily covering my entire head, and he began to squeeze.
I could have screamed. I could have begged for my life. I won't deny that the thought crossed my mind.
Instead, I gripped my sword with both hands and, despite the pain, drove it deep into his stomach—almost to the hilt.
Now it was Demian who howled in agony.
Even so, the bastard didn't let go.
"GAAAH!"
The pressure on my head eased—just enough. I threw all my body weight forward, ending up face-to-face with him, inches apart, like two lovers about to share a passionate kiss.
"Idiot!" he mocked. Drops of blood splattered my face. "I already told you! Slowing down time won't help you!"
"And who the hell told you that slowing time is the only thing I can do?"
The demon's eyes widened, reflecting doubt… and a hint of fear.
"FASTFORWARD!" I shouted, clinging to Kronos's hilt with everything I had, knowing exactly what was coming.
Just as "Slow" let me decelerate time in a small area, "Fastforward" did the exact opposite.
The only problem was that if the user (me, in this case) was too close to the target, the spell would affect me too—which, depending on the situation, could easily kill me.
An incandescent light burst from the clock embedded in Kronos's hilt, and its hands began spinning wildly.
Tick tock! Tick tock! Tick tock!
The sky and everything around us vanished, replaced by a whirlwind of lights and a buzzing sound like an old VCR.
We began to descend… no—better said, we shot downward like a rocket. In less than a blink, we "landed" with a deafening crash.
Right back in the throne room.