Shadows seemed to dance over the walls as the door opened before Scarlett and Allyssa, the air suddenly thickening with subtle tension as what lay beyond was revealed. A dark set of stairs led to a long corridor with a tall ceiling, with a macabre tapestry of demons looming at the top.

As one, dozens of eyes fixed to glare on Scarlett. Some of the demons appeared as little more than grotesque amalgamations of charred flesh and jagged obsidian armor, their eyes glowing like smoldering coal. Others scuttled around like impish little minions, while molten hulks, towering three times Scarlett’s size, stood like grim sentinels. Spectral tormentors of shifting shadows emitted eerie, unsettling flicking noises, creating a menacing assembly that could send shivers down even some of the most seasoned adventurers’ spines.

To most, the varied sizes and capabilities of the demons demanded a flexible and careful approach, signifying a threat that wasn’t to be underestimated.

Scarlett found that they all burned the same beneath her flames, though.

As she mentally tallied their foes, the [Tiara of Lost Benediction] and her other equipment appeared. A cacophony of screams reverberated from the demonic throng, and as the quickest and nimblest of the demons rushed down the stairs, a swarm of Aqua Mines and fire arrows materialized in the air to face them head-on.

The weaker demons stumbled or collapsed under the barrage, trampled by their larger kin. The shadowy demons clinging to the walls and moving like wraiths met barriers of fire that pierced their forms, halting their advance. Allyssa, at Scarlett’s side, fired her crossbow and tossed out a flask that released a layer of grey muck that had proven efficient at slowing these demons before.

It also made excellent kindling.

Scarlett nodded in appreciation as she deftly forced the demons at the front to retreat a few steps with a couple of well-placed fires, corralling them back towards their slower counterparts. Though a few managed to bypass her barricades, demanding some of her attention to deal with them, the majority moved according to her directions. The door opening was too narrow for all of them, and the stairs tapered off towards the bottom, creating a nice bottleneck for Scarlett to use.

Among humans, demons were notorious for their cunning and deceptiveness, but that was only because the cunning demons were the only ones who made it to the Material Realm. The ones Scarlett was facing now could best be described as the expendable trash Anguish kept around to throw into the proverbial meat grinder when necessary.

For once, that was a role Scarlett didn’t mind filling for the Vile.

Once the majority of the demons reached the bottom of the stairs, they were amassed as a tight mob pushing ahead with snarls and growls, slowed by their fallen comrades and Allyssa’s concoction.

Scarlett’s forehead knitted in concentration. Now it was time to change the strategy.

Foregoing her Aqua Mines and other techniques, a blazing torrent of destruction burst forth, with searing red flames consuming everything on the other side of the door. The heat didn’t bother Scarlett too much, thanks to her fire-resistance items, but she imagined it would be uncomfortable for Allyssa.

The smell was also far from pleasant.

Through the inferno, the demons’ cries reached them. A few shapes attempted to push through the roaring fire, but a handful of larger fire arrows took shape above Scarlett’s head and shot forward, driving them back into the brilliant maelstrom.

She maintained this approach for a while—some of these demons were resistant even to her flames—but eventually, she let her flames subside, revealing a grisly pile of charred and smoldering corpses. Some still clung to life, their lower halves scorched to nearly nothing, and Scarlett made sure to finish them off.

As the remaining flames died down and the pungent odor really hit them, Scarlett cast a glance at her mana with a scowl.

[Mana: 16468/32063]

That consumed a good portion of mana, but she still had a substantial amount left, and [Ittar’s Genesis] had a decent recharge rate.

She turned to Allyssa, finding the girl staring at her in amazement.

Scarlett arched a brow. “Is there something on your mind?”

Allyssa’s gaze shifted towards the still-warm pile of corpses. “Have you been holding back until now?”

Scarlett allowed a small smile to grace her lips. She had been conservative with her mana up till now, sticking mostly to her typical approach, with only the occasional total incineration of a demon here and there. Her display just now did indeed look a lot more impressive than usual. “In a sense, I suppose. But this should not be a surprise to you. You have seen what I am capable of before, no?”

“Yes, but I thought you were running low on mana. And I had no idea your flames could be this effective. You literally turned them all into ashes in less than a minute.”

Well, the demons weren’t actually all ashes. There was a good deal of scorched limbs and torsos remaining, making for a disgusting sight on its own.

Allyssa narrowed her eyes. “Some of them were practically made of stone and already on fire, yet they still burned. How does that even work?”

Scarlett offered a slight shrug. “Sometimes I deem it best not to ask.”

Her fire seemed to outstrip theirs. She could also see all their vulnerabilities with her [Charms of Apperception], so all she had to do was poke at them for long enough, and then her true pyrokinesis did the rest. It worked wonders on anything that relied more on their sheer mass and numbers than their wits. Send any real boss up against her though, like Deacon Emberwood’s remnant, and they were considerably more resistant to her attacks. Not to mention that they actually knew how to fight back at range.

She didn’t doubt that Raimond could accomplish something similar against this level of enemies. These particular demons’ strength lay in their numbers. The dungeon’s true threat was what was supposed to be the last boss.

“What’s that?” Allyssa asked, pointing at the covered [Ittar’s Genesis].

Scarlett glanced down at it, then back at the girl. “An artifact that I rarely get the opportunity to use,” she replied, turning her towards the door.

Walking forward, she paused for a moment in front of the charred demon remains, scrunching her nose at both the sight and the smell. Smothering the last flames with her pyrokinesis, she stepped forward and began to cross the corpses. The sensation was far from pleasant, and once she reached the stairs, she immediately conjured some water to clean the ash and filth off her feet, extending the same courtesy to Allyssa once the girl caught up with her wearing a grimace.

They then ascended the stairs, ready to confront what awaited them.

From there, their journey through the citadel mirrored their larger group’s experience. They maneuvered through halls and chambers of varying size and fiendishness, housing different-sized groups of enemies in them. While some demon breeds had acute senses, that wasn’t true for all of them. Moving on their own, Scarlett and Allyssa had a much easier time avoiding fights where they could. Scarlett made sure they didn’t fight against anything too bothersome, and when combat was inevitable, she acted swiftly and decisively to minimize the risk of injury. Like that, it wasn't long before they closed in on their destination.

Finally, they arrived at a vast hallway leading to a solitary door made entirely of pitch-black darkness, appearing as though it was a void into nothingness. Scarlett anticipated that Raimond’s group would have returned to where she ditched them by now, while Fynn probably wasn’t far behind her and Allyssa. In fact, she had almost expected the young man to have already caught up, but there was no telling if something had delayed him.

Regardless, Scarlett had no intention of waiting.

Allyssa and she crossed the hallway in silence, their footsteps echoing against the walls uncannily. The latter sections had been conspicuously empty of demons, but that didn’t surprise Scarlett, nor did she mind being able to conserve her mana.

[Mana: 9341/32063]

She had used up most of what she’d had left getting to this point, but [Ittar’s Genesis] was still recharging. Its rate seemed to be even faster than what she had previously noted for the artifact, which made her wonder if it had an easier time because of the abundant demonic energy in their surroundings. It made a certain kind of sense that a holy relic would have some purification aspect to it.

“Is that where Rosa is?” Allyssa asked as their steps ground to a halt before the looming barrier of darkness before them. From this close, one could see that the door was made of stone, yet looking at it felt like staring into emptiness itself.

Scarlett nodded, contemplating the door and what lay beyond. “Yes.”

As often happened when she faced the climax of one of her grander plans, a sense of excitement welled up within her, mixing with thoughts of anger towards Anguish and the Vile’s manipulative role, a sprinkle of apprehension about what might unfold from hereon and the elements outside her control, and an unshakable self-assuredness that might be too confident for the circumstances.

Allyssa took a deep breath beside her, adopting a resolute expression. “And there’s really a Vile inside as well?”

“Yes, although Anguish is currently weakened and trapped within a human vessel. She has yet to fully incarnate into Rosa, so she should be bound and mostly incapable of acting directly against us.”

“Is Rosa responsible for that?”

“No, Malachi is.”

“Malachi?” A tinge of surprise entered Allyssa’s voice. “Wait, who’s that? Are there more people involved in this?”

Scarlett shot her a brief look. “There are, yes. As for who Malachi is, that is a matter best left for another time.” Her attention shifted forward. “It should suffice for you to know that she is neither our foe nor ally, but she could very well become either.”

“Right, great… And we’re really going to tackle this alone? I realize it might be a bit late to ask that now, and I’ve kinda just been riding along until now because of what I am starting to think is my own lunacy, but I wouldn’t mind one last confirmation that you’ve got all of this under control.”

Scarlett remained silent for a few seconds. “…It will likely be fine, but I will not lie. Some of the confidence you have witnessed may stem from my own arrogance. Nevertheless, you can trust me to navigate the situation. I will inform you if there is any action required on your part.”

If they were lucky, they wouldn’t even have to fight the boss. If they were unlucky, things would get complicated.

“Now, let us not waste any more time.” Scarlett extended her arm, preparing to place her palm on the dark surface of the door, when it suddenly began to move on its own accord. It swung open gradually, like a waking giant, revealing the chamber beyond. A voice, familiar yet discordant, accompanied the unveiling.

“And look who has decided to grace us with her presence. If it isn’t the star of the show. Welcome, Baroness. We’ve been expecting you so~”

Scarlett’s blood simmered at those words. Her gaze landed on the figure seated on a throne at the far end of the chamber, wearing Rosa’s guise.

Anguish.