Vomit crawled up the back of Selena's throat, begging to be released. She gulped harshly to prevent anything from spilling out of her mouth. The odor of blood slammed into her face, forcing her to notice it. "Where's it coming from?" she asked while covering up her nose with her hands, but it did very little to cover up the stench.

"Judging by how strong it is, I would have to say the demon must be pretty close unless it's a dead body," Cedric stated with a grimace as he pinched his nostrils. He wasn't interested in stumbling upon the corpse of a victim who had fallen prey to the demon.

Selena sucked in a breath to calm her nerves. "Let's hurry up and find it," she stated, causing Cedric to nod his head in agreement. She pushed her way through another crowd.

The scent swirled around her, stroking underneath her chin. It called out to her, begging her to follow it to an unknown destination.

Splash!

Selena froze in her steps when her shoe came into contact with a puddle of liquid. She sucked in a shaky breath. Her eyes drifted down before they widened. "Blood...I stepped in a big puddle of blood," she breathed out.

Cedric peered over her shoulder, his eyes following the trail of blood leading away from them. "There's more puddles leading over there. Let's go that way," he pointed out, even though he didn't want to go in that direction.

Selena forced her body to move forward despite her limbs crying out to her to stop. The odor of iron hit her stronger and stronger with each step she took. She pushed through another crowd of people dancing and rounded a corner. Selena abruptly stopped in her tracks and covered her mouth with her hands to prevent herself from screaming out loud at the sight before her.

Corpses of numerous victims were scattered across the glossy dark purple floor below them. Their blood nearly painted it red.

Selena's eyes traveled up, following the trail of bodies. Her breath got stuck in her throat when a new body tumbled to the floor with a loud thud. Her eyes flickered up to see a woman with long auburn hair cascading down her shoulders. Her mouth was stained with crimson. A couple of droplets tricked down to her chin.

The woman used the back of her hand to wipe off the blood that spilled out from the corner of her mouth, smearing it along her skin. A wide, amused grin graced her lips when her dark green eyes met Selena's gaze.

Click! Click! Click!

The heel of the woman's black knee-high boots struck the floor with each step she took forward. "I'll be damned. I wasn't expecting exorcists from the Souls of Exorcists to come knocking on my front door today," the woman stated as a giggle escaped her lips, clearly amused by their presence.

Selena's eyes narrowed in irritation. "With the number of victims you claimed, I'm honestly surprised someone didn't come here sooner," she mentioned. She reached into her pocket and gripped the handle of her gold key.

The woman gave them a fanged grin. Her teeth were stained freshly scarlet from the human she last devoured. "The Demon King wouldn't be thrilled if I let you live. So, I'll try to give you a quick death, okay," she said with a pleased smile as she clasped her hands together. Her pupils resembled a cat's, and they dilated as she focused intently on them.

The woman cracked her knuckles. She stretched out her fingers. Her nails extended outward, becoming longer and pointed like a dagger at the tips. "My name is Ava, by the way. I think it's only fair if you know the name of your killer," Ava said with an ominous tone.

Something doesn't feel right. Why does the air feel so suffocating? It's probably just my nerves getting the better of me, Selena briefly thought as she yanked her key out.

Selena's eyes widened when Ava moved quickly, turning into a blur that her eyes couldn't keep up with. Before she could transform her key into a scythe, Ava appeared right next to her.

"I wonder how your blood will taste," Ava shouted with her claws drawn, aiming for Selena's eyes.

"Selena!" Cedric shouted. He swiftly used his legs to propel him forward. He detached his key from his necklace, transforming it into a double-bladed staff. He swung it downward to block Ava's claws.

Screech!

Ava's claws created yellow sparks as her nails scraped along the metal. Her eyes flickered over to him with a murderous look dancing around her eyes. "Looks like you'll be a problem. I better get rid of you first," she mentioned. She lunged forward, catching Cedric off guard. She reached up and flicked his forehead with her index finger, sending him flying back into a nearby wall.

A pained groan left Cedric's throat when his back collided with a wall. He clenched his jaw to distract himself from the pain coursing through his body. He leaned against his staff and steadied his stance.

"Cedric, are you alright!" Selena shouted while not taking her eyes off their opponent.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me! Don't drop your focus!" Cedric yelled back.

Selena clenched her scythe and blocked Ava's incoming attack with the handle. She felt herself get pushed back slightly from the sheer force behind Ava's attacks.

"Slice!" Selena yelled out the spell. A small, calculated surge of wind blasted past Ava's face, cutting her cheek in the process.

"Now, you've done it!" Ava roared with a dark look in her eyes. She dove backward and clasped her hands together. Dark purple energy crawled out from her body and spirled upward toward the ceiling.

—--

Fear welled up in Cedric's eyes when he felt the energy in the room shift. Crap! he thought when he realized what the demon was planning on doing. He sprinted toward Selena, almost tripping in the process. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close.

"What are you doing?" Selena asked, looking up at him with confusion written all over her face.

"No time to explain!" Cedric said quickly. He spun his staff around, transforming it into a gun within the blink of an eye. He aimed toward the floor and pulled the trigger, causing a neon blue bullet to sink into the ground. A blue thread slithered out from it and swirled around them. It engulfed them in a protective barrier resembling a bubble.

Ava inhaled deeply before letting out a deafening scream. All the glass in the room shattered, causing shards to fly in every direction. The pieces bounced off the barrier, but the force of her yell pushed the bubble back, causing it to slam into a wall, forming a crater in it.

Cedric's heart accelerated when Ava leaped into the air and slammed her boot down into the barrier, causing a crack to form in it. He closed his eyes, putting all his attention on the spell he was trying to cast.

Ava's eyes darted to the left when she saw movement. Tiny red spheres started to merge together to form a giant sword that sliced down, cutting off her leg in the process. She let out a howl of pain before she did a backflip to move away from the barrier to give herself distance away from them.

"Damn it! Damn it!" Ava screamed in frustration. The black blood dripping from where her leg was ripped off stalled. It eventually bubbled outward, creating a new limb for her as if she had never lost it to begin with. "This is my party, and you're ruining it, you damn exorcists! I won't fail him!" she barked and slammed her foot into the floor, creating a fracture in the floor beneath their barrier.

A gasp left Cedric's throat when his weight traveled upward, making him feel weightless. He didn't get a chance to do anything as they tumbled down into the darkness.

—--

When the barrier struck the ground, it broke open, coughing up Cedric and Selena out of it. "Ow, that hurt," Selena whined as she rubbed her side. Her entire body felt sore from the fall; she was thankful for the barrier Cedric cast; otherwise, they would've had broken bones for sure.

Selena craned her head back to look up at a single light bulb hanging from a string attached to the ceiling, barely illuminating the room below. "I think we managed to fall into the club's basement," she said, looking around at all the boxed-up merchandise stacked along the walls.

"Something isn't right. That demon was way too much for a first-year to handle," Cedric stated with a shake of his head as he used his legs to push himself back up.

Selena furrowed her eyebrows at him. "What are you suggesting? Are you saying that they made a mistake with the information on the mission report?" she asked as anxiety chipped away at her nerves.

"That's what I'm saying," Cedric pointed out, fear lacing his voice. "I have to get you out of here before anything goes wrong," he explained.