Naomi heard the fight before she saw it. A shrieking, nails-on-chalkboard sound of metal grinding on stone was audible even over the thrumming pulses reverberating through the jungle from the Core, as were a series of loud smashing sounds that she had trouble imagining as coming from either of the battling succubi. The source of the noise didn't remain a mystery for long. Emerging from the trees, Naomi found herself face to face with a large skeletal monster weilding an axe with a head the size of her body. She yelped, jumping behind a crumbling wall at the edge of the ruins and almost ran over Jade.

  "Woah!" She skidded to a stop, clutching onto her friend to stop both of them from falling to the ground. Her hands came away slick with blood. "Jade, you're hurt!"

  The comment sounded dumb even to her. Of course she was wounded, she was fighting a powerful demon and had asked for help. Without waiting for a reply she immediately started a healing melody, singing softly and laying a hand of Jade's shoulder. Warm light flowed down her arm and into her friend, mending the worst of her wounds.

  "Thanks for coming." Jade said, peeking around the low wall. Naomi followed suit and caught a glimpse of motion on the other side of the cracked courtyard. A large chain erupted from the ground, flailing like a tentacle. It smashed into the skeletal creature with enough force to crack several bones. The monster crashed to the ground, disappearing in a cloud of dust.

  "What is that thing?" Naomi asked, finishing her spell and ducking back behind cover.

  "New friend." Jade patted the magical pouch on her hip. "I don't think he's going to last much longer, though."

  "And Malice? Is she alone?"

  "She is now. She's hurt, but not badly. I'm out of potions and barely have any mana-"

  A shadow swooped overhead, dipping sharply to land behind them. Before Naomi could react, her armor's barrier shattered, a dark whip carving through it as if it were paper. The force of the attack threw her back into the wall, and she hit hard. Naomi had the wherewithal to roll off it, springing to the side to avoid a follow up attack. She was just in time. A length of chain the width of her arm smashed into the stone where she'd been standing a moment before, punching straight through the foot-thick wall and sending shards of masonry flying in every direction.

  "Another friend?" Malice laughed, wielding her whip in one hand and controlling conjured chains with the other. It was enough to keep both of them at bay, forcing them to stay on the defensive. "Bring as many as you like, sister. Keep struggling."

  Another crack. This time Naomi deflected the chain with a blast of sonic energy from her guitar. It arced away, smashing into one of the buildings next to the courtyard. The entire structure collapsed in a cloud of dust and debris.

  "I can taste your fear." Malice purred, stalking closer to Naomi. She ducked behind a pillar, looking around for Jade. Where was she? "It's sweet. The perfect appetizer."

  Naomi shuddered involuntarily. The demon's aura was oppressive, laden with malevolent intent. But she refused to be cowed by it.

  "I may be afraid." she called out, hoping to draw the demon's attention. "But it doesn't rule me. Not anymore!"

  The skeleton, now pinned to the ground and wrapped in black chains, screeched as it tried to wrench itself free. Malice ignored it, stalking closer to Naomi's hiding place.

  "It will." She said, and Naomi could hear the malicious smile in her voice. "Before the end, it will."

  "Now!"

  Naomi spun out from behind the pillar, guitar up, and launched another Sonic Boom with a single, powerful strum. The blast of energy sent Malice reeling back towards the rune trap Jade had just lay behind the demon. It was a tactic they'd practiced dozens of times against normal monsters, one that had served them well from the beginning.

  It almost worked.

  Malice flared her wings, launching herself skyward just before she tripped the trap. The succubus was fast, moving like a shadow through the gloom. Naomi pivoted, launching a barrage of fire blasts towards her just as Jade threw a cloud of daggers. Some hit, but it didn't slow the demon down. She landed between them and sent another barrage of summoned chains whipping around the courtyard. One caught Naomi right in the chest and sent her crashing to the ground. Something inside her cracked and she cried out, cradling her ribs as she rolled to a stop.

  Another chain flashed towards her before she could recover but it missed as the entire ground shook with a violent quake, sending all of them reeling. A cacophonous tearing sound ripped through the ruins and Naomi was forced to dive to safety as the section of ground beneath her fell away into the ravine, taking a good portion of the ruins with them. Heart thumping wildly in her chest, Naomi brought herself to her knees and poured mana into Pyrotechnics, launching another streak of fire at Malice as she engaged Jade claw to dagger. The two combatants moved in a blur of motions, slashing and twirling around each other in a deadly dance of blood and steel. Naomi focused, guiding her magic through sheer force of will. There was no hesitation in the attack, no self-doubt. She was no longer the scared girl who hid behind her friends when the monsters came for them.

  She was the one who took down the monsters.

  The jet of fire passed mere inches over Jade's outstretched wing before nailing Malice squarely in the head. She staggered, screaming in pain and rage. Jade didn't let the opening go to waste, plunging both blades into the demon's chest as she staggered, perilously close to the rapidly expanding cliff edge. Naomi was forced to keep moving as more of the ruins fell away into darkness, taking with it the still-chained undead summon. It screeched as in plummeted out of sight, vanishing into the gloom.

  CRACK

  Jade fell to the ground with a cry of pain and a spray of blood as Malice's claws raked across her face. Naomi rushed in to help, her stomach dropping as she saw her friend rolling on the ground, clutching her eye. Malice stood over her, panting, swaying on her feet. The smirk was finally gone from her face, replaced by a rage that twisted her beautiful face into something that more resembled the monster she was.

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  "That's enough!" Malice coughed, blood spraying from her mouth. "You thought you could be heroes, did you? Thought you could stand against the might of Lord Vastrozun? Well, this is what happens to heroes!"

  Malice kicked Jade in the stomach, sending the woman crumpling back to the ground as she tried to get up. Naomi heard something crunch at the impact. She stopped a short distance away, channeling a healing spell into her friend. The demon laughed, not trying to stop her.

  "You're too late. Far too late." Malice said, gesturing around them. "It has already begun."

  Shadowy figures began manifesting in the gloom around them. They were just like the ones Naomi had seen in the jungle. Indistinct shapes that slowly gained form and substance as the ritual neared completion. Despair began to creep into her mind, dark and cloying. But there was something else, too. Naomi felt a small twinge in her magic, a familiar reaction. It couldn't be… Could it?

  It was.

  An idea sprang into her mind, bringing with it an odd sense of clarity.

  "You're right!" Naomi said, finishing her spell and speaking loud enough to be heard over the continuing rumbling. "You've won! We surrender."

  She just needed to keep Malice talking for a few moments longer. Jade stirred on the ground, shifting in a small pool of blood. The figures surrounding them continued to grow in both clarity and number. Naomi could already make out a few of their features.

  Tara, please… She prayed again. But not quite yet!

  "No." Malice spat. "You don't get to surrender. First, I'm going to make you kill your friend. Then, I'm going to drain every last drop of life from your body. Slowly."

  She could see their eyes, now. The summoned demons were all turning to regard them, watching the confrontation. They were still insubstantial, not fully here, but they were getting closer.

  "Not going to happen." Naomi said, hefting her guitar. It was time to-

  "You don't have a choice." Malice said with a smile, taking a step closer to her. The demon's words were layered with alluring magic. It pulled Naomi in, wrapping itself around her mind, setting her at ease…

  And she had felt this before. Time and time again, Jade had weaved her charm magic on Naomi, helping her train her resistance. That, combined with her high willpower, was enough to form a crack in Malice's enchantment. The spell was powerful, absurdly so, but with Naomi's training, that small crack was all she needed.

  "Yeah, I don't think so." Naomi growled, snapping out of the trance before the magic fully took hold. Malice stopped, a look of surprise crossing her face. "You're not my type."

  Before the demon could react, Naomi shifted her grip on her guitar and began to play a series of fast, energetic notes. The growing well of power that had been accumulating in her soul as more and more demons turned their attention onto her poured into her Fleetfoot spell, enhancing it all the way to the next rank. As its base level was 'C' the boost was enough to bring it back up to 'B' rank, just like when she'd fought the wave of monsters on live television on Earth. The sudden burst of speed and energy that enveloped her was so potent that the entire world slowed around her.

  "Jade!" She shouted, backpedaling away as Malice lunged for her with bloodied claws. "Fuck her up!"

  Jade's body didn't want to move. She was covered in scrapes, gashes, and bruises, and more than one limb wasn't moving the way it should. Her left eye still seared with pain, and she couldn't seem to see out of it properly. But when Naomi called out her name, she reacted. Jade dragged herself to her feet with a snarl, bolstered by the surprisingly potent wave of magical music that filled the cliffside ruins. Naomi's spell didn't truly impart energy, it didn't give Jade stamina or restore her, but it did enhance her movements. Even her sluggish, labored dash towards Malice's back was transformed into a lightning quick ambush. With no time to retrieve her weapons Jade crashed into the demon with slashing claws, knocking her back towards the edge of the cliff.

  Malice screeched in rage. It was an inhuman, soul shaking sound of primal anger. The wounded succubus turned on Jade with murder in her eyes, sliding to a stop and raising a hand shrouded with dark magic.

  Only for the rune trap under her feet to trigger. Conjured chains of spectral energy burst from the sigil, wrapping around the demon's legs. Even wounded, even caught completely off guard, Malice was fast. She shifted away with a speed Jade could barely match even while bolstered by Naomi's spell. Still, it wasn't quite enough. One leg remained trapped by the arcane bindings, rooting the demon in place. It wouldn't hold her for long, but it did create an opening. One Jade had been waiting for.

  Phantom blinked back to her hand as she lunged, using the last of her focus and mana to conjure a flickering aura blade around it. She didn't hesitate, going straight for the kill. Even rooted, wounded, and bleeding from a dozen wounds, Malice wasn't done fighting. She pivoted, bringing up her claws in a savage counter. The super-human speed imparted by Naomi's magic was just enough to allow Jade to twist around the attack, but the dodge threw off her aim ever-so-slightly.

  "Aaach!"

  Malice screamed in pain and fury as her severed wing fell to the ground, the wound smoking and charred by Jade's aura blade. Jade spun into her with another attack, this one a true finisher, but Malice caught her in the chest with a powerful kick that sent her crashing to the ground perilously close to the edge of the cliff. Jade twisted, stabbing her aura blade into the cobblestone to prevent her from plunging into the yawning abyss behind her, scoring a groove into the ground. She came to a stop right on the edge, her feet dangling over the cliff. An incorporeal figure loomed over her, the form of a blood demon slowly resolving into focus as more waves of magical energy pulsed through the jungle. It looked down at her, cocking its head curiously.

  Malice was coming for her, staggering closer with lurching steps, claws extended. Jade tried once again to pull herself to her feet, only to find that her body was spent. The aura blade winked out and she sagged, barely able to rise to her knees. She had given everything she had. Naomi had said Tara was still trying to stop the ritual. Maybe the tek'kalla could still succeed, maybe she couldn't. In this moment, faced with imminent death, Jade was surprised to find she didn't care. Not about the world, the demon invasion, or any other large affairs. She just hoped her friends would be safe.

  Malice said something Jade couldn't hear. The hum of the core had grown louder still. She was close now, only a few feet away.

  "Sorry, Alan…" Jade whispered. "I-"

  "I don't think so, bitch."

  A battered, bruised, and very pissed off looking Naomi stepped straight through one of the resolving forms of an insubstantial demon and, before Malice could do more than turn a hate-filled look on the bard, blasted her straight off the cliff. The empowered Sonic Boom was so strong that a large chunk of the ground was sheared away, nearly taking Jade with it. She rolled to the side as Naomi grabbed her, pulling her to safety. Jade caught one final glimpse of Malice, short one wing, falling away into the inky darkness of the void, her shriek of fear and fury diminishing with each passing moment. A second later she was gone, leaving the two of them huddled together beside a crumbling wall.

  Dozens, maybe hundreds of spectral demons surrounded them, more appearing every minute. Jade couldn't keep track of them all, and they were growing more real by the moment. That fact should have terrified her, but instead she was numb. The battle with Malice had taken everything she had.

  "It's up to Tara, now." Naomi said, pulling Jade close and casting another healing spell. The warmth brought a little life back into her, and Jade looked up at her friend.

  "Thanks for coming for me."

  Despite the desperate battle, their dire wounds, and the very real possibility that they were soon to be torn apart by a horde of demons, Naomi gave her a genuine smile.

  "Just remember, Jade." She said, her healing spell petering out as, finally, her mana was exhausted. "All you have to do is ask."