The Virtues' Magecraft

Page 9: Demon's World

"Dammit!" Alexander shouted, slamming his fists into the black orb.

"You gotta be kidding me!"

Only those three were trapped in that shadow. But not Alexander.

Not Alexander.

Enclosed Worlds. They're a highly advanced spatial spell, constructed purely of magic energy. They create miniature worlds, closed off from regular reality. Once it traps its opponents, the creator's attacks cannot be evaded.

And if they're in the demon's world...

"...Then we're now in the palm of his hands," Gabriel muttered.

"And it's just the three of us... Dammit!" Gabriel said, tracing his hand on the pitch-black wall. He turned to Anastasia. "See if you can get us out of here," he told her.

She shook her head. "This is an Enclosed World. I can't just cancel this out," she said, grazing her hand against the pitch-black wall.

They could see clearly, even though stood in a room of darkness, each of the walls as black as night. There was no end in sight, nothing but the endless view of an abyss.

Gabriel was the first to sense him.

Belphegor. Prince of Hell. Demon of Sloth. He swallowed his dry saliva, thinking, 'What the hell... is that incongruous being?'

"It's best if we stay calm. So... Where's the demon? The prince of hell or whatever?" Leonard said, stretching.

"You... You're telling me you don't sense him?!" Gabriel mumbled, sweat dripping down his forehead.

"It's just one demon, right? Nothing we can't handle, right? Right?"

"Calm down, Leonard. We'll be fine," Anastasia said. "We'll be fine," she repeated to herself.

Gabriel let out a sharp breath. "This is fine. This is okay. We attack. We win. Simple as that."

A loud yawn burst through the air, shaking the world's interior. "It's been a while since I've had a body in the World... And now, what? They're sending children to fight me now?"

Gabriel's face turned grim, as droplets of nervous sweat fell to the ground. "Everyone... Spread out. We need to limit his range of attack."

"Oh, well. At least, it'll be easy," the demonic voice mumbled. "Go ahead!" he shouted. "Make the first move. See if I care."

Gabriel nervously took in a breath. He thought to himself, 'Think, think, think. He has one weapon; that axe. He's likely the one that created this Enclosed World, which means Spatial Magic. Does he have any other affinities? Does he-'

He sharply exhaled, saying, "There's no time for fear. Got it? Let's win this. That's all."

Alexander stopped punching the orb of darkness. He let out a deep breath as he gently traced his fingers against it. With just that single touch,  unease had settled in his mind, nausea in his stomach, and disgust in his heart.

He swallowed his dry saliva.

Of course, a Prince of Hell would be capable of something like this. Alexander took in a sharp breath.

'Step 1: Concentrate the magic energy to one part of the body. Step 2: Circulate it. Step 3: Circulate faster.'

"Now!" he commanded himself, slamming his energy-dense fist into the Enclosed World.

Leonard had just noticed the whirls of wind surrounding Gabriel. The latter sharply inhaled, as he burst forth, beginning to close the distance.

Leonard immediately followed suit.