Ignite the Sun

Getting to the next floor was going to be slightly more difficult, as this floor was as tall as three regular ones, and making a staircase this large with a single spell wasn't easy.

"I don't think it's possible." Isara shook her head.

"Can't you just make it piece by piece?" Alfred asked.

"We can't ensure that it will be structurally sound if we do it this way." She explained.

"What if one of us makes stairs while the other creates support?" Calen suggested.

"It would take a shitload of magic from the person making the support, but it is possible..." She looked at him with concern. "You've used up all your power though, and I remember that Sylara said your magic and domain power will be shared after the ritual."

"I could use one to power the other, yes." Calen nodded. "...but I haven't learned to do that yet, so in terms of magic I'm full."

"Alright then - extrude those three walls, I'm going to make the stairs on the remaining one."

They got to work immediately - even though none of the spells was particularly difficult, they were all quite draining and required absolute focus - if they didn't want to fall from three stories because the stairs collapsed under them that is.

Half an hour later they were finished; their work wasn't particularly pretty, but it was sturdy and wide enough to hold a whole army.

Fortunately they didn't need to go up the stairs while making them, as the contact with what they already made was enough to extend the spell.

"Are you able to do that fire explosion attack again?" Alfred asked.

"Nope, I need at least an hour more." Calen smile apologetically. "I can use a little flame though, enough to aid in the fight ahead."

"Good." Alfred reached for his sword,but clicked his tongue when he remembered about his hand. "I'm afraid I'll have to stay behind, unfortunately I don't have any additional powers."

"Stay safe, we'll be back soon."

***

The next floor was nearly empty - only five Krakee were present, but Calen had a feeling these five would be much tougher to deal with than the two dozen below.

For one, four of them were evolved, and donned a similar armour as the one they met below, but fortunately their weapons weren't as good. Each of them held a heavy rock club - getting hit with one would be very unpleasant, but it was also relatively easy to dodge compared to a sword.

Unfortunately the four of them wasn't their biggest issue - that was the fifth Krakee.

It was sitting on a throne like structure made of rubble, situated right in front of the altar.

It was even bigger, almost the size of a human, but that was as far as physical changes went, the dangerous part was its equipment; it was wearing a full set of armour, very similar to the one Alfred had, and holding a strange sceptre crowned with a human skull.

"At least we know what happened to the initiate." Calen commented.

The large Krakee stood up, and to the utter suprise of the group, spoke in common:

"HUMANS... KILL... BROOD..." The monster licked its lips. "NOW... WE... KILL... HUMANS."

The creature struck its staff against the stone floor and sat back in its throne - the smaller Krakee instantly jumped to attack the group.

Calen and Cassian didn't have particular trouble keeping up with the attacks of the monsters and Elira was somehow holding up, but Isara had a big problem.

She couldn't focus on casting, and her skill with dagger wasn't enough to withstand the barrage of blows she was recieving.

Eventually she simply couldn't parry the next blow.

Isara cried out in pain as a the club smashed into her shoulder and sent her flying back.

"Isa!" Calen was locked in a clinch with a monster of his own, big he has to help her, otherwise the creature would just smash her head like a watermelon.

He stepped to the side, making the monster stumble forward, simultaneously transferring the enhancement he placed on his sword to his fist, and delivered a clean punch to its throat.

The creature flew backwards and fell on the floor, but he didn't have time to check whether it was dead - he rushed to Isara without thinking, and thrust his sword into the back of Krakee's head.

"Are you alright?" He kneeled next to Isara.

"I'll live, but I think it dislocated my shoulder." She grimaced from pain. "I'll try to still support you from behind, go help the others."

With Calen's assistance dispatching the remaining two wasn't a challenge - in the end only Isara got hurt seriously hurt, Całen and Cassian remained unscathed while Elira only earned a few scratches.

But the fight wasn't over yet, the big Krakee was still sitting on his throne, seemingly completely unbothered by the deaths of his subordinates.

"Why didn't you help your minions?" Calen questioned the monster, not really expecting an answer.

"CAN... ALWAYS... MAKE... MORE."

The creature released the sceptre it was holding, letting it fall to the ground - then it reached behind its back and retrieved a long, thin and slightly curved blade made of rough dark metal.

"GUARDS... WEAK..." The monster growled, baring its fangs. "BUT... HUMANS... ALSO... WEAK."

And then it disappeared.

Całen barely managed to block the blow, which somehow hit Cassian as well - the reptile king was dancing around them at astonishing speeds, his blade barely visible as it slashed through the air.

The two of them were standing back to back desperately defending themselves from the blows - for some reason the monster attacked only them and left the other two alone, perhaps it decided that they wouldn't pose a challenge in a confrontation and wanted to get rid of danger as soon as possible.

Calen couldn't compete with the creature in terms of speed, but he was significantly stronger, he could end it in one strike if he could land a hit... but that was a big if.

As things stood currently, the two of them would get tired sooner rather than later and get turned into minced meat.

He just hoped the girls could come up with something.