A heavy blast of wind exploded out from within the tunnel!
Felicia shielded her face with her glowing hands as her dress flattened against her body.
She staggered back.
Liam quickly pulled her away from the direct current.
"No! Alex may be in there! I need to get to him!"
"Felicia!"
Rushing forward, she prepared to enter the tunnel when the infinity symbol appeared directly above her head.
Glancing up, she spat her hair out of her mouth and tried to pull it away from her eyes.
Liam pulled her into his arms again and also looked up. "Alex?!"
Alex dropped from the center of the infinity, which vanished as soon as he appeared. He landed heavily on his feet with the Holy Sword already in his hand, poised to attack.
"Felicia! We need to leave! He's coming! It's a trap! He's been expecting us all along!"
"I know!" She shouted. "I sensed his spell!"
The gale was growing louder and harder.
The three of them could barely hear anything outside of the wind blowing in their ears. Even standing was difficult.
Felicia cursed her stupid dress as she relied on Liam keep her upright. If only she had put on her training clothes instead.
Both she and Alex felt a heavy swell of black magic fill the air.
The wind suddenly stopped and an eerie silence filled the cavern.
The three exchanged tense glances, their heavy breathing the only sound which broke the silence.
Suddenly, the ground underneath their feet disappeared, sending them plummeting!
Darkness filled their visions.
Felicia's light hands flailed widely as she looked for something to anchor herself.
She could hear her brother and Liam yelling.
The fall didn't last long.
They hit the ground hard, toppling over.
It was bright in here, the walls had torches.
Alex instantly jumped to his feet. Somehow he hadn't managed to lose grip over the Holy Sword and it was still in his hands. The symbols etched onto it were glowing.
What was going on with the Holy Sword?
Looking up they realized that they had passed through the stone.
Felicia was taken back to the first vision she'd had when she had ghosted through the glass dome of the cathedral before entering who she wasn't aware was herself at the time.
"Where are we?" Liam asked, pulling Felicia up with him. "How many underground chambers are there?"
"This is the final level," Alex stated. He looked to the left and saw a small black door. Stepping towards it, he nudged it with the tip of the sword. It swung open at once revealing yet another chamber.
One, much larger, and reeking of blood and rotten flesh.
They three of them stepped inside, gagging.
Although for Alex and Felicia, they were overwhelmed by the foul scent of black magic more so than the physical smell.
"This is it," Felicia observed. "This where the Pope performs the Devil's magic."
Upon entering, they saw that the floor, walls and ceiling were laden with intricate symbols. Some appeared to be carved into the stone. Others looked like they had been painted with blood.
"These are demonic runes," Liam breathed. "I saw such symbols in an old book I'd stumbled across at the Academy."
It was even colder in here and their ears were beginning to hurt like they'd taken a deep dive underwater. Felicia massaged her left ear when she felt a dull pop.
There was a large magic circle under their feet.
Suddenly, the circle lit up, a ring of red mist shot up from the ground and into the ceiling, trapping them inside a cylinder.
They heard the door slam shut behind them.
Spinning around, they watched through the thin red film which held them inside the circle as the door rippled slightly, as if it were made out of water before disappearing completely and leaving nothing but a stone wall.
"It was an illusion," Felicia whispered. "There was never a door to begin with. He wanted us to come here."
Alex slashed at the barrier with the Holy Sword. The resulting sound was that of fabric tearing. Adjusting his grip on the hilt, he raised his sword over his head and brought it down like a hammer.
Liam was both baffled and horrified by the sound.
Felicia was hopeful.
Each slash weakened the barrier, the eighth one finally did the trick and the red wall collapsed around them.
They quickly stepped out of the circle.
Instantly, the room grew hot.
The stench of black magic and rotting flesh intensified as the Pope walked out of stone and threw his hands out.
Felicia, Alex and Liam all go flying and slam into the wall.
The Pope laughs and begins chanting.
All the symbols on the floor and walls begin to glow with each word he speaks.
A blue hourglass materializes out of thin air and traps both Felicia and Liam inside it. The top half begins to spill green water which instantly debilitates Felicia's holy powers. She collapses in pain.
"Liam! Felicia!" Alex cries out.
Liam kneels down and pulls Felicia onto his lap.
Alex swings his sword at the hourglass, but before it can make contact the Pope sends a long boomerang of black mist directly at his neck. Alex pivots at the last second and dodges it. The boomerang bounces off the wall and comes right back at him. He slices it, causing it to disintegrate into black sand.
In the same swing, he strikes the hourglass which shatters before dissolving as well.
The green water splashes onto him. Instantly, he feels his strength wane like a balloon being deflated.
A sharp gasp of shock and pain escapes him as blisters form on his hands from where the water splashed him. His sword nearly slips from his grasp.
The Pope's eyes are glowing red. He smiles viciously and blasts him again, but with a red ball of fire.
Alex leaps aside and it hits Liam who was pulling Felicia off to the side.
The sound of the impact is like the crackling of wood in a fire.
Liam goes flying back and slams into the wall once again. The side of his head cracks upon impact, his spine rattles, his arm breaks and three of his ribs shatter.
Liam screams in agony, stars spinning in his vision as he hits the ground with a thud.
His body twitches and squirms like an ant that was stepped on.
His wails fill Felicia's ears like nails on a chalkboard.
She screams in horror and tries to crawl over to him. Her fatigue from the green water is intense. It's taking all her strength to stay awake. She tries to use her magic to no avail.
No! No! No! Liam's not supposed to die! Not like this!
The green water begins to burn her skin as well. She tries to stand up, but her legs barely respond. "What is this?!" She screams at the Pope. "What have you done to me?!"
The Pope opens his mouth to respond when his attention is diverted to Alex who charges at him.
Alex didn't know how long his strength would last. He had to take out the threat immediately.