The improvised explosive Jade had secretly purchased from the Labyrinth Store held a great deal more firepower than its small casing suggested. She was nearly fifty feet away when the bomb detonated, and the wave of heat and pressure threw her to the ground as if a giant fist slammed into her back. Her armor's defensive barrier flickered and sparked as shrapnel pelted the area, shards of wood and metal whizzing past at frightening speeds.

  Jade groaned, disoriented, and pushed herself back onto her hands and knees. Her ears were ringing, and the ground wouldn't stay still. She blinked several times in rapid succession, trying to clear her blurred vision. As she did, Jade caught sight of the group of demons behind her. All the nearby ritualists, some ten or so demons with various humanoid forms, had been knocked to the ground. It didn't appear that the blast had killed any of them, but the closest few were burned and only weakly stirring. For her part, Malice remained standing. A barrier shimmered around her armor, cracked in several places but still intact. The remains of the bomb lay at her feet, a misshaped lump of glowing metal that sizzled on the ground.

  Malice was shouting something, but Jade couldn't make out what it was. The world was oddly muffled, like she was underwater. Most of the demons were picking themselves off the ground. They looked around in confusion, unsure what had happened. A few backed away towards the core while others started towards Malice. One, a large, red-skinned demon bearing a massive sword, turned his gaze on Jade just as Malice extended a hand towards the large, glimmering Core. A bolt of purple energy lanced from her palm, striking the enormous gemstone. The magic circle beneath it began to slowly pulse.

  She had to run. The whole point had been to grab their attention, and she certainly had it now. In seconds the confusion would clear, and they would be on her. Jade almost hauled herself back to her feet but then her addled mind recalled the bomba bomb's description. Even as the first few demons started towards her, she threw herself back onto the-

  BOOM

  The second blast wasn't quite as large as the first one, but it still packed a punch. Another wave of heat, more raining shrapnel. There was a loud CRACK as Jade's barrier popped and she felt a lance of pain in her side as something hard slammed into her. Jade grunted, already leaping to her feet and ignoring the pings of experience notifications scrolling by in the corner of her vision. The ground felt unsteady, but she was able to stand, staggering away from the blast site. Her steps grew surer with each passing second and Jade picked up speed, not daring to waste time surveying the carnage.

  Time to get out of here!

  As if to punctuate the thought a blazing orb of fire sailed over her shoulder, slamming into a nearby tree and erupting in a burst of flames. Searing heat scorched Jade's skin and she grunted in pain, but the attack didn't do any real damage. With her cloak discarded her only attire was her annoyingly revealing armor, which meant her racial damage reduction was in full effect.

  More projectiles whizzed past, and Jade didn't stick around to see if the demons' aim improved. She blinked forward with Mirage Step once, vaulted over a fallen tree, and then triggered the talent again. Foliage blurred as she pounded back the way she'd come, double checking her route on her interface's map to make sure she was heading in the right direction. It was hard to tell exactly how many of the enemies were following her, but she could hear shouts and sounds of pursuit behind her. She just hoped it would be enough.

  "Luis, go!" She said as she ran, holding one hand to her earpiece. "They're after me!"

  "Ach! Jade, don't shout into this!" Luis's voice came back over the radio in a pained grunt. "You okay?"

  The ringing in her ears had subsided but he still sounded muffled. A distracted part of her mind considered that movies and games did not do justice to how truly loud explosions were.

  "We heard a blast." Naomi's voice came through next. "What did you do?"

  "Why do you think it was me?" Jade asked innocently, kicking off a boulder and sliding down a shallow embankment. She checked her map. Still a ways to go.

  "Do I have to answer that?"

  "If you needed something blown up you should have brought me." Tara interjected. "We had to dispatch the monsters down there quietly. Quiet is not my specialty."

  "You'll have a chance to use your specialty real soon, Tara. I'm almost at the bridge. Is everything ready?"

  "All set, amiga."

  "You sure you don't want one of us to hang back and help?" Fenrin asked, a note of concern in his voice.

  "No, I'm sure some of them stayed behind. I think Malice started the ritual, she did something to the Core. Go! I'll keep this lot busy."

  A splash of evening sunlight cut through the thinning canopy, revealing the approaching chasm. Jade nimbly darted through a thick cluster of bushes, leaping into the air and kicking off a series of three trees to dash overhead before landing with a roll at the edge of the jungle. Another tree erupted in flames behind her, but it seemed she was out of range of her pursuer's spells for the moment. That would change once she was in the open.

  There was nothing she could do but trust in her speed and resilience. Jade pushed herself, reaching the bridge at a dead sprint and pounding her way across the treacherous span. She hopped over a gap in the stones just as a group of demons burst from the jungle behind her in hot pursuit. Jade risked a single glance over her shoulder and instantly regretted it as she nearly tripped on an uneven flagstone.

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  Shit!

  She managed to right herself before she went tumbling into the ravine. With her heart pounding a frantic rhythm that was only partly due to her exertion, she continued to tear across the expanse. At least ten of the demons were after her, the majority of the ones who had been at the Core. Perfect. Now she just had to get across and-

  WHAM

  Something slammed into Jade from behind, knocking her to the bridge with enough force to make her bounce a foot back into the air. She landed with a pained grunt, tumbling to a stop and leaving a bloody skid mark on the uneven stone. Before she could roll to her feet a dark shadow streaked towards her, resolving into the form of Malice. The succubus furled her wings and pounced atop Jade, pinning her to the ground with a snarl.

  "You!" She growled, trying to wrap her claws around Jade's throat. She twisted, grappling with her assailant. "You've caused enough problems, sister. Playing with you was entertaining, but you're too much trouble to put up with."

  Jade felt footsteps pounding on stone as the rest of the demons approached. They'd be on her in seconds, swarming her. She clawed at Malice even as the other succubus's talons raked her chest leaving bloody gashes. Such an attack would have eviscerated a normal human, and even Jade's reinforced demonic fortitude wouldn't be able to withstand that kind of repeated punishment.

  Come on… She through, focusing on holding Malice at bay. It's been a couple of minutes now…

  The runes on her vestments began flickering, their defensive magic finally recharging after being depleted by the earlier explosion. This was her chance. Jade kneed Malice hard in the chest just as the demon slashed at her again. The blow rocked her back giving Jade just enough of an opening to slip out from under the succubus's clutches. Malice snarled, lunging for her with talons extended. Right on cue, the defensive barrier of Jade's armor shimmered back to life just in time to intercept the attack. Jade rolled with the force of the blow, using it to help her open some distance as her newly reformed shield crackled and stuttered, already mostly depleted. That was okay. It had given her the time she needed.

  "You had your fun, Malice." Jade said, adrenaline pumping through her veins. She clutched a small transmitter in her hand and, with a thumb, flicked open the plastic cover. A green light blinked, then held steady. She gave the other succubus a tight smile. "Now it's my turn."

  There was no time to call Luis and make sure the rest of the party was clear; she'd have to trust that they were following the plan. Jade clicked the button just as the group of demons caught up to the snarling succubus, rushing towards her and summoning fire and lightning in their open palms. Rage glinted in Malice's eyes as she slashed her whip at Jade, but it was too late. A violent tremor rocked the bridge as, far below, a dozen explosive charges detonated against the support pillars, blasting straight through the old, cracked stone.

  Jade didn't stick around to see what happened next. The plan had been for her to be off the bridge before she blew it to hell, but she hadn't counted on how quickly an enraged succubus could catch up to her. She had barely taken five steps when the entire world tilted, the section of bridge she stood upon skewing wildly to the side and rotating. The world was suddenly filled with loud, grinding snaps as the structure fractured into dozens of pieces, unable to support itself without the pillars holding it aloft.

  "Oh fuck, fuck!" Jade grunted, sprinting up the rapidly tilting section of stone and transitioning to its side as it rotated, working her legs like pistons as she reached the end of the fragment just as it tore away from the rest of the structure. She jumped for it, pouring all her enhanced strength into a leap that sent her sailing a good fifteen feet into the air. There was a sickening moment when she hung there in open space, nothing below her but a several hundred foot drop into the valley, and then she cleared the gap. Jade landed with a roll and was up and running before her mind had even started processing what was happening. There was no time to think, the rest of the bridge was fracturing, and she was still a good fifty feet from the far side.

  There was a flash of light a short way in front of her and one the bruzaks suddenly appeared in her path, a puff of magic emanating around her muscular form. She turned as Jade approached, opting to fire a blast of lightning at Jade rather than run to safety. Jade cursed, taking the blast full on the chest as she jumped another gap in the collapsing bridge. She didn't have time for this. She drew and released Phantom in one smooth motion, sending the dagger flashing across the distance between them. Jade blinked to the demon in a flash of magic as the weapon sank into her shoulder, ripping it free and kicking her over the edge before she even knew what was happening.

  "Thanks for the lift." Jade grunted, pushing aside the pain from the new burns that scorched her midriff.

  Another few seconds of running, plus a timely blink with Mirage Step as another chunk of stone dropped away beneath her, left Jade gasping for breath on the far side of the valley. She hunched over, hands on her knees, looking back just as the last of the structure fell away into the canyon.

  That was insane… Even for me.

  Part of her was glad Naomi hadn't been there to see that. There was no sign of the pursuing demons, and another slew of experience notifications confirmed what she suspected.

  "Luis?" She gasped, holding one hand to her ear. "This group is down."

  She paused for a moment.

  "Literally…"

  "Good work amiga. We're almost to the core."

  "I see a few more of them up ahead." Fenrin added. "But not many. We can take them."

  "I'm sensing some powerful magical pulses." Tara said, a note of concern in her usually confident voice. "Something big is happening."

  "Put a stop to it." Jade said. "And be careful."

  "What about you? Are you okay?" Naomi asked. She, too, sounded out of breath.

  Jade finished checking the notifications and grimaced. As she expected, one was missing.

  "I'm fine." She said, ignoring the throbbing pain in her stomach. The wounds were bleeding, but not profusely. "Malice got away. I'll run interference."

  There. Jade could make out a small, winged form in the distance, flying back towards the far side of the ravine where the core was. She reached into a belt pouch and took out the potion of flying Siora had given to her. Her eyes fell on the other pouch hanging from her hip, one marked with an ominous skull. She had yet to try using the Bag of Death the strange necromantic gemstone had transformed her Bag of Mystery into, but she'd taken it with her just in case.

  Hopefully she wouldn't need to try her luck with whatever dwelled within it.

  Jade gulped down the potion, feeling herself lift slightly off the ground as the magic took effect. A one-minute timer appeared in the corner of her vision alongside the potion countdown. Healing would have to wait.

  Can't have you crashing the party, Malice. Jade thought grimly, launching herself into the air and angling towards her quarry.

  And then.

  I really should have used this before I blew up the bridge.