The Virtues' Magecraft

The First Mission Goes Wrong, Part 1

"Alright," Liam began. "Here's the rundown of our situation. No matter how many times we climb up or down the stairs, we'll remain on the fifteenth floor. Elevators don't work. We can't leave through windows or doors, either. Alexander and Leonard tried climbing through the ceiling tiles, but the fifteenth floor was above that, too."

Alexander sat down, his back to a wall. "Isn't this all happening because Leonard went ahead and killed that spirit?"

Gabriel shook his head. "Curse magic like this is undone when the spirit dies. So this must be a different spirit."

"Okay, but you guys are forgetting that Leonard sensed a spirit on this floor," Lumiel said. "So where is it?"

"What if that thing that Leonard killed was just a chunk of it, instead of the whole spirit?" Anastasia asked.

"I guess that's possible. But it's unlikely. Haven't heard of that happening anywhere recently."

"But it's possible, right?" Giovanna asked. She sheepishly muttered, "What if it's outside? Then we can't get to it and we'll be stuck here until we die?!"

The room fell silent.

All seven of the Virtues stood, sat, and laid down in one of the rooms on the fifteenth floor. Their silence held the room with intensity. Not even half an hour had passed since they understood they were stuck.

For once, Alexander was the one to speak first. "Hey..." he said. "If we don't go back, then Archibald will come to help us, right?"

"In this situation, he might get trapped, too," Anastasia muttered, letting out a sharp breath.

"No, he won't," Gabriel interjected. "Uncle Charles would find a way."

Giovanna threw herself onto a bed. "We're gonna die here, aren't we? We'll starve to death."

"No, we'll find a way, too," Lumiel said. "He sent us here because he knew we could handle it. So that's what we'll do. Handle it."

Leonard cleared his throat as he ruffled his brown hair.

"So, uh..."

No one responded.

"Anyone got any fears?"

"Shut up, Leonard," Gabriel said.

"You shut up. I'm trying to make friends."

Gabriel groaned as he stood up from a chair. "You guys are annoying," he said.

From there, Alexander felt bad. He didn't want to bear the silence anymore, and he knew Leonard didn't want to either.

"I'm, uh... I'm afraid of blood," he said.

Leonard smiled. "Nice. Well... not nice because it's a fear. But nice."

"Heights," Anastasia said.

"Perfect. What about Liam?"

All six of them turned to Liam. Just like last time.

His stale voice spoke, "...Death."

They stared in silence, almost in shock. Liam didn't look like one to be afraid of death. He seemed to be one with no fear at all. In fact, he hadn't been the least bit fazed when they realized they trapped on this floor.

Giovanna got up and left the room.

"Where are you going?" Lumiel asked her.

"Gonna stay in another room. Staying here has gotten annoying."

Alexander nodded in understanding. "Leonard," he said. "The spirit's on this floor, right?"

Leonard nodded.

"Perfect," Alexander said, getting up from his chair. "I'm gonna go find it. Well... Try to. Any idea where it is?"

He shook his head. "It's all jumbled. I can't make out the curse. Kinda like its energy is spread throughout the floor. So... no dice."

"Dammit," Alexander mumbled. "Well... still better than doing nothing," he said, exiting the room.

Gabriel stood up almost immediately after Alexander. "I'm not going after you, I just had the same idea."

"Uh-huh."

Anastasia left after them. They began to search every single room, every single window, crevice, and possibility for any trace of the curse.

Liam stared at the clock in the corner. "What time does it say?"

"Huh?" Lumiel asked. She was sitting right next to the clock. "Uh... 11:32."

"Well, that's not good."

Leonard stood up. "Why not?"

"When we got stuck here, I set up a stopwatch. That was an hour ago. But that clock over there still says 11:32."

"Meaning?"

"Time isn't passing on the inside."

Leonard stared in confusion and silence.

"Basically it means..." Lumiel interrupted. "...help may never come."

"But it's not entirely bad," Liam said. "It confirms something else. This is an imperfect territory."

Gabriel stared at Alexander. His bright blue eyes focused on him and only him. He didn't trust Alexander.

"Aren't you a bit too calm?" he asked.

"What?"

"You're probably enjoying this, aren't you, Demon-Born?" Gabriel asked as he approached him.

Alexander shook his head. "Not really. I just wanna go home."

"Uh-huh." Gabriel placed his elbow onto his sword's hilt.

Alexander had tried not to acknowledge the sword this whole time. But alas, he sighed. "What's up with the sword?" he asked.

Gabriel smiled as if he was waiting for someone to ask that question.

"It's Excalibur. The sword of the king."

Alexander swallowed his saliva. 'The Excalibur from those legends?' he asked himself. He slightly shook his head as he stared at the sword.

Gabriel continued, rambling on about the blade, with each word coming from his mouth filled with vicious pride.

"'He who can wield Excalibur's full might will be the one to lead humanity to victory.' That's one of its descriptions," he said smugly. "And I can wield it. Humanity's a lot better off with me."

Alexander nodded for the sake of nodding. 'So that's why he has an over-inflated ego.'

"Plus," he continued, tapping at the side of the sheath. "This is Ascalon. Anyone in possession of Ascalon gets their injuries healed."

Anastasia squinted. "Wait, what?"

"Wait, how did you get here?" Alexander asked.

"From the door."

Alexander hadn't even heard her. But then again, he never heard her whenever she showed up.

"So as I was saying," Gabriel said, bringing the conversation back to himself. "It's the original power. All injuries are healed for the user. Last week, I accidentally cut myself with a knife and it healed in seconds."

They stared at him in silence.

"You guys don't believe me, huh? Alright, then. Hit me, Demon-Born."

It wasn't that they didn't believe him. They just didn't care.

"...Huh?"

"Hit me."

Alexander stared at him."I'm not gonna hit you."

"Hit me."

"No."

"No, seriously, try it."

"I don't think that's reasonable."

"Just punch me. It's perfectly fine."

Alexander spat out a sigh. He drove his fist into Gabriel's stomach.

The wind was knocked from his lungs. Gabriel fell to his knees and covered his stomach with his arms. His eyes were wide as he stared at the floor, struggling to take a breath.

"Damn, you okay?"

"Barely felt it," he said, his voice hoarse, and his arms still sprawled across his chest. Gabriel grunted before he forced himself to stand, one foot at a time.

"So like I said..." he muttered, still panting and struggling. "It works."

Alexander gave him a thumbs up and turned to Anastasia. "How much time has it-"

The doorknob at the hallway's end began to shake. The door to the staircase. All three of them froze.

"Please, don't tell me..." Anastasia muttered.

Gabriel clenched his jaw as he slowly nodded.

"Anastasia..." Alexander said. "Get Giovanna. I'll get the rest."

Alexander and Anastasia slowly backed away, heading back into the corridor, heading into the rooms. But Gabriel stood still, facing forward as the door swung open.

He swallowed his saliva.

"Hey..." Alexander spoke nervously, sweat beginning to drip down his face as he entered the room. "You guys remember the spirit we killed?"

"You mean the spirit I killed?" Leonard interjected.

"Well, whatever. It's bigger now."

Liam shot up from his seat and dashed through the door.

"Oh, God," he said. This was the first time Liam's expression changed.

And now, all the Virtues stood in the corridor. Now... All the Virtues stared at the cursed spirit.

The term 'spirit' calls to mind a specific image, doesn't it?

This was not it at all.

It was a gargantuan mass of flesh. Pale grey flesh, at that. Arms, legs, hands, feet, and even heads by the dozen connected to each other en masse to form that thing. Scattered chunks of flesh and bone cracked and groaned as the dozen-foot-tall being inched through the stairwell.

That's how they understood this was it.

There was no other way to enter the stairwell.

Just like last time, Giovanna mumbled, "Ew."

"Well, this doesn't look so easy," Leonard said, swallowing his saliva.

Alexander shook his head.

"I've never seen something like this," Liam said. "Creating an imperfect domain to trap us here... A form unlike any other... What kind of curse is it?"

Liam accidentally made eye contact with one of the eyes that were scattered about the mass of flesh. He squinted in scorn and disgust.

Alexander let out a sharp breath. "So we just gotta kill this guy, right?"

"Exorcise," Gabriel corrected.

Alexander glanced at him. "Really, dude?"

Lumiel turned her back to the spirit, facing the Virtues. "Okay. Let's look on the bright side," she said, clapping her hands together. "This is an important lesson. Now... How do you kill a curse?"

Leonard raised his hand. "You gotta destroy its core."

"Exactly. And that's our main problem," Lumiel muttered, turning to the spirit.

"How the hell are we supposed to find its core out of all of that?" Alexander mumbled.

It was then that an arm grew and extended from the seemingly endless mass. And from that arm, formed a hand. From that hand, fingers. As soon as it was complete, a single finger pointed at Alexander.

From somewhere, the curse spoke, its voice echoing and booming throughout the floor. It spoke in a raspy, grave voice, saying, "A contract. Let's make a contract. Allow me to eat that human. And I will let the rest of you leave unharmed. Make a contract."

The Virtues stood in silence.

Giovanna swallowed her saliva. "So are we gonna sacrifice Alexander or what?"

"Nope."

"Yeah, I'm not dying on the first mission," Alexander said. "Maybe after we kill some of the demons. But not by some random spirit."

"Fair enough."

Leonard spat out a sigh as he ruffled his already unkempt hair. "So, uh... What now?"

Anastasia sighed. "Leonard, can't you just engulf the entire thing in flames and burn it until it dies?"

"That's not how it works."

She stared at him.

"Oh... Yeah, that's fair."

"Uh-huh."

Again, Lumiel turned to the spirit. "Okay, uh..." she began.

Lumiel cleared her throat. "Uh... Mister Spirit Guy?"

Half a dozen of the spirit's many eyes turned to Lumiel.

"So, uh... We're gonna go back into that room. And discuss the contract. Y'know?"

The spirit inched closer.

Lumiel swallowed her saliva.

"Very well."

She spat out a sigh and turned back to the others, briskly walking back to their room of discussion.

"We're gonna need a plan," she told them.

Liam entered the room and sighed.

"He's talking," Liam said. "How the hell can he talk?!"

"It," Gabriel clarified. "Curses aren't alive, technically."

"Right. But that's not the point, though. Technically," he said, mocking Gabriel. "Curses aren't supposed to talk."

Leonard cleared his throat. "Let's not overcomplicate ourselves, okay? It's a single curse, meaning a single core, meaning an easy kill."

"Okay, Leonard, how about you find the single, miniature core inside that entire mass of whatever-the-hell-that-is?" Anastasia asked him.

"I didn't say it would be easy."

"You literally said it would be an easy kill."

"..."

Gabriel sighed. "What if... What if his core isn't there? If his core's in another location... then we can't kill it. Meaning there's no way to leave here alive. Other than the option he gave us."

Gabriel stared at Alexander.

"No, thanks," Alexander said. "I don't wanna die."

"Well, if it's necessary..."

Lumiel smacked the back of Gabriel's head. "No."

Alexander sighed. "I mean, are you really gonna trust a cursed spirit for this?"

"He called it a contract," Gabriel said. "When it comes to contracts, you'll die if you don't honor your end of the deal."

"Well, damn," Alexander muttered.

"Which is why-" Gabriel stood up. "-we should do it. We can just come up with a counterplan after we get out. At this rate, we'll just starve to death here."

"No," Lumiel told him.

"Why not? Making contracts with spirits is legal," he said. "It's just the best course of action."

Liam sighed. "If the spirit wants to kill Alexander... then there must be a benefit of some kind. I don't think we should do it."

"Yeah, I don't think so either."

"Same."

Gabriel grumbled to himself and sat back down.

Leonard glanced around the room at the others. "So, uh... What now?"

Alexander began to c***k his knuckles. "Well... if we kill it... the territory disappears. That's how it works, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"At this rate, all we need is a plan," he continued.

Not five minutes passed before the Virtues exited the room. All except Anastasia. They all moved across the corridor, preparing for what was to come. And at the front stood Alexander and Gabriel.

Alexander took out the dagger Liam had given him. He pressed the button on the pommel for it to expand.

At the same time, Gabriel unsheathed his sword.

"So, uh... You wanna be the one to start it?" Alexander asked, facing Gabriel.

"Why me?"

"You're the one that knows magic."

Gabriel furrowed his eyebrows. "So by that logic, I have to risk my life?"

"We're all risking our lives."

"Yeah, but you're using the fact that I know magic like if it means I'm immortal."

"Okay, but-"

"Guys!" Lumiel shouted. "Focus."

Alexander let out a sigh. "Let's just go at the same time, okay?"

Gabriel nodded. "On three."

"You ready?"

Gabriel nodded.

"3..."

Alexander dashed towards the curse.

'What?!' Gabriel's eyes widened. He didn't expect Alexander to run right away. He had to wait till the count of one. That was when Gabriel realized his mistake.

But Alexander didn't get very far.

Several of the curse's arms coiled together and connected, stretching and elongating before slamming Alexander into a door.

The door burst open, knocking him into the room behind it. And with that, the curse began to move, slowly inching forward.

Gabriel turned to the side and dashed to the window.

The windows that would lead to outside looped back into the corridor. There were three of those windows on each wall at their sides.

He grit his teeth and shut his eyes, before crashing into the window.

And through that path...

The window next to the staircase burst with shattered glass. Gabriel appeared right behind it, his hands wrapped around Excalibur's hilt.

Gabriel let out an energetic cry as she slammed the side of the blade into the spirit. He hadn't sensed any movement from Alexander. 'Did the Demon-Born die on impact?' Gabriel asked himself.

But those thoughts didn't last long.

His eyes widened as he saw Alexander's hand burst through the wall.

Just a few inches away from its eye, Alexander wiggled his hand.

"Ah. I missed," his muffled voice mumbled.

The rest of Alexander's body crashed through the wall. Chunks of broken wood and shattered stone burst from the wall as Alexander jumped through.

Alexander sliced off one of the spirit's arms within a single movement and rammed the blade back into its body.

Even though Alexander's blade was half a foot inside the spirit, no blood came out. Not even as Alexander yanked the sword from its insides, not even as Alexander drove it back in once again.

Gabriel swallowed his saliva. "Dammit," he muttered through his clenched teeth. "You're an i***t!" he shouted at Alexander.

"Yeah, I know!" Alexander responded, before slashing his weapon across the spirit's eyes.

"Leonard!" he cried. "Get going! Understand?"

Leonard dashed for the exit sign. As he knocked open the door, his hand slid over the crimson fire alarm. He smiled to himself. "I understand," he muttered, pulling down the handle.

Water rained from the ceiling as an alarm blared.

As the fire system poured water onto the curse and everything on the floor, Gabriel smiled and clenched his teeth.

Gabriel put his hand on the mushy, wrinkled skin of the spirit. Or rather, onto the water that rained from the ceiling.

He took a deep breath and slammed his hand further into the spirit. A cracking sound echoed as screams were let out of the spirit's many mouths.

Gabriel's smile widened.

Gabriel had used his magic to freeze the water. He permeated it through the spirit's skin and crystalized it, froze from within.

Now all that was left was Leonard. He kicked open the door to the staircase. Lumiel dashed into the staircase, her palm glowing with light.

She aimed a single finger at the back of the monster. From there, a rapid flash of light burst from her hand, exploding as it impacted the curse's back.

Leonard's hand ignited. He clenched his fist and c****d his arm back. With a deep breath, he launched fire at the spirit. Just like Lumiel's light, it exploded on impact.

Liam and Giovanna ran into the staircase. Liam dashed up the stairs while Giovanna ran below. The space in the staircase looped them. Just like last time.

Liam appeared from below as he continued to run up. Just as Giovanna descended from an "upper" floor.

And they continued.

Alexander swallowed his saliva as he cut off the arms that had grabbed him at his ankles.

Gabriel was strong. Alexander understood that. He continued slashing and hacking away at the curse even while holding the ice together. He continued holding the ice even as Leonard bombarded the curse with flames and explosions.

All of them... All of them were strong.

Gabriel glared at Alexander. He stared at his obsidian eyes that were almost glowing with zeal. Alexander raised his sword once again, before slamming it into the spirit's head.

He thought back on the crazy idea the Demon-Born had.

"Alright. Here's the plan," Alexander had said in the minutes prior.

"It's kind of stupid, but it's better than what Leonard said. Plus, none of you guys are saying anything, so..."

"We'll use two types of attacks. Physical and magical. Swords and spells. Gabriel and I will just stab the thing until we find its core."

Alexander continued, "Secondly... Anastasia will make Connections."

"I can't do that, though," she interjected. "I've tried and-"

Leonard smiled. "So did the spirit."

They all turned to Leonard.

His smile widened as he continued. "Every time we go up or down the stairs, the curse uses its energy to loop it. Every time Anastasia tried to get us out of here, it used energy to prevent it. Meaning..."

Liam snapped his fingers. "The territory isn't automatic. It's manual."

"Exactly."

Alexander smiled to himself. "So..." he said. "If we attack it from multiple sides, if we try to open Connections, if we move through the stairs, it'll end up consuming more energy. More energy used means weaker defense."

"And weaker defense means we can kill it," Gabriel said. He spat out a sigh and stood up. "Dammit, why does that make sense?" he mumbled to himself.

"This is a crazy strategy, y'know," Anastasia told him.

"Yeah... But it's just crazy enough to work," Leonard said.

Alexander stared at Leonard. "Did you say that to be cliche on purpose?"

Leonard smiled and nodded.

"Either way..." Liam interrupted. "I think it could work. Let's do it."

"Alright, then. I guess it's settled," Gabriel said. "But I'm gonna need someone to pull the fire sprinklers. Killing the thing would be a whole lot easier that way."

Alexander's eyes widened as he realized that this was Gabriel's magic. He smiled to himself.

But that smile as quickly faded as the curse's voice returned. It echoed: "Enough." The hallway began to shift. Not shift, tilt.

"What. The. Hell?!" Leonard screeched.

Anastasia didn't stop, however. She still stood in the room they had left her in, she still continued the struggle to open Connections in every wall to her side. Even as the walls shifted and as the floor titled, she regained her footing and continued to try.

And trying was enough for now.

Now, the curse shifted. It was no longer a mass of eyes, teeth, noses, and limbs. What appeared at its center was a gargantuan mouth, opening a gaping hole into an endless darkness, with crooked, jagged teeth and fangs twisting in contortion.

Gabriel dug his sword into the rugged floor. "Everyone in the rooms!" he shouted. "Now!"

"Give me the Demon!" the spirit screamed.

Alexander swallowed his saliva. First, the spirit called him a human. And now, a demon.

Alexander plunged his blade into the wall as the others scurried into the rooms. If he were to let go, he'd be eaten. He could barely hold himself up. Neither could the blade. He could feel the bronze metal groaning to support itself as the entirety of the corridor shifted.

Gabriel knew this. Alexander could die right then and there.

Alexander stared at the gaping hole. Even after a quarter of an hour, they had barely made progress. With each cut, s***h, and stab, the curse would simply scream out in pain and regenerate its broken body.

He swallowed his saliva. Alexander now understood the two possibilities.

One: The curse will kill Gabriel and Alexander. After that, it'll destroy this space, killing everyone else in the process.

Two: They make the contract with the curse. Alexander dies, but the others survive.

These were the only solutions. Or rather, the only logical ones.

Alexander stared at Gabriel, before glancing down at the gaping hole beneath them. He took in a deep breath. "Hey..." he said.

"New plan!" Alexander shouted with a smile. "But you... You just gotta keep at it, okay?"

Gabriel didn't understand what Alexander meant. Until he yanked his sword from the crevice. Until he fell.

"Alexander!" one of the Virtues shouted.

"Demon-Born!"

The curse's many arms reached out as Alexander fell into its mouth. He smiled as he gripped the blade with both hands, squeezing it with every ounce of pressure he had so he wouldn't let go.

And from there... The Demon-Born fell into the spirit's mouth.