Sous and Alana stood back to back on level two. As they listened in on the screeches and shrieks of the oncoming demons, Alana thought of how nonchalant Sous was during this. When Alana asked for a favor, she wasn't all that forthcoming with Sous but when it was revealed Alana chosen a partner for the task of taking down the witch to the headmaster, the headmaster then proceeded to tell the leadarch of Nadia via message. Alana wasn't too sure what the treaty was that was signed thousands of years ago, but it was a treaty that stated if a Dimona resident who was taken up the challenge of Day of the Demons requested a partner from Nadia, Nadia had to abide.
Never had a Dimona resident requested such a partnership since the two nations residents rarely interacted except for maybe at Hacate since Dimona didn't really have much of a magic school within their country. The treaty had never been utilized until now.
Sous never complained when she found out the truth. She didn't yell at Alana, didn't kick or scream to leave. The twelve year old simply shrugged her shoulders. The two weren't really friends, one could say. They were cordial but Alana made it pretty evident she didn't want much of a relationship with Sous when they had first met. It wasn't until later when she remembered the seal that she sought Sous out.
The twelve year old had her own agenda. She was determined to do one of three things: drain the power of a demon and create a new seal, drain the power of the witch and obtain a new seal, or unleash her father's power. Sous didn't care for an apology from Alana for putting her in this situation. If anything, she wanted to thank her, for if she survived then she would be even stronger.
"Aaaaaagggh!" The first demon landed on hit upon Sous wand. She managed to cut its hand off by transforming the wand into the sword. The demon's eyes fell on the ground, barely able to process she had cut off its arm before his head was cut off.
Alana slashed through the air movement with speed and agility through the dozens of demons that came out of the woods to greet them with hate and blood. She stabbed them in the hearts and played soccer with their heads.
Sous extracted her claws. She did a flying kick to the gut of one demon, forcing it to the ground where she did stepped on it, pulling its eyes out. This wasn't the demon she wanted to drain.
She shoved her wand down its throat, she smirked at the demon who was unable to see her after she had removed its eyes.
"Ignis..." from the inside out, the demon began to burn and scream. She only wished she had the time to watch it burn but the others were calling her name. She jumped onto one demon's shoulders, grabbed it by the neck, and flipped it over, breaking its neck, and cutting off its head. The way she was able to use the spell Gladius was fluid. There were times when she didn't even have to say the word. Sous didn't noticed she accomplished such a feat with spell casting but Alana did. That was how often Sous used that spell. She was unconsciously able to call upon it.
Unlike Alana, Sous caused her demons pain. Alana used her staff and struck for the heart or head. Sous used whatever she had within her hands even her hands itself to cause pain onto these demons. She clawed at their legs, ripped at their chest, pulled out their eyes, broke their necks, all before finally giving the final blow.
It was pain that Sous feared so it was pain what Sous gave. She imagined herself as the one getting her legs broke, the one getting her head ripped off. The one who had sword stab her and then rip her body into two.
Her fair skin was barely visible through the dirt and blood that laid upon her. She stood up straight watching a set of demons be electrocuted. These demons were a bit different than the ones on level one. Level one demons were typical horn, white eyes, sharp teeth, smooth muscular bodies. Level two, these demons were a bit more hideous. They varied and seemed more like mutilated animals than demons.
Sous stood before one demon that was just a torso and arms. No head, no legs, just a torso with its intestines dragging on the ground invested with maggots.
The power this demon had within its arms was strong enough to send a cow flying through the air. The demons that didn't have heads, it was the heart that needed to be damaged. Sous hadn't come upon any demons that lacked a heart. Sous always thought of demons like vampires. They had hearts that didn't pump. It was just there, for whatever reason.
Sous stepped forward and placed the tip of her want on the chest of the demon. A red light appeared from within the chest, glowing, spreading until the entire torso blew up into tiny pieces. Sous hadn't noticed she didn't use the word Ignis.
Alana was found with a few more demons to kill. Like before, Sous stood upon a tree watching, but when Alana came to the last demon, Sous screamed out for her to stop.
Sous jumped down and walked to the demon that was impaled in the neck with Alana's staff. She stood next to Alana and placed the tip of her wand on the forehead of the demon. She said the words the three sisters taught her. Red, black, and purple were the three colors that swirled around her wand and traveled up her arm, and two the other side of her neck creating a new seal. She would have to pay close attention since there was already a red color. She would have to look for clots that would alert her, she was now taking the demon's blood.
Alana watched with awe, never having seen a seal be made before. She watched the three colors mix into one another on Sous' neck, like it was branding her. This was what she hoped for especially since this was the last demon and they would be on their way to the third level.
Once done, Alana was able to finish the demon off. Two levels were done. Four to go.
There was a lake on the mountain the girls used to freshen up and rest. Sous cupped the left side of her neck, feeling a burning sensation like she had when she got the first seal. The basilisk was coiled around her arm instead of her neck as a result of the disturbance.
They sat there in silence for some time. With both girls looking up to see the time of day. It was probably late in the afternoon.
Alana sighed and turned to Sous. "I'm sorry I brought you into this."
Sous shrugged as Alana predicted. "You had your reasons."
"You could die here." Alana whispered.
"I could die in Red Woods." Sous was implying that if she were to die then she were to die. If she were to live then she would live. She wasn't a meek eleven year old who just saw her father and friends get murdered. She was a twelve year old coming into her Alpha, who now had two seals upon her neck, who consumed the ashes of her father, who fought the Alpha of Apex, who may suffer from panic attacks every now and again. She had changed and grew within an year and the longer she lives, the more she will grow.
Alana washes her hands in the cold water. "Level three is when things get more intense," Alana said.
"Shit gets real, uh?" Sous laughed falling on her back with her arms behind her head.
After some time had past, both girls got up and gathered their belongings. They had ate and drunk some water and was ready to continue up the mountain. They walked away from the river back toward the main trail that was used for tracking up the mountain. Sous' neck was no longer burning and the basilisk coiled around her, flicking its tongue every so often. Alana smiled at it. It was a cute little snake. Even if she were to die, at least she was in good company.