"Domain, huh." Ferris looked over the fog. Her diamond irises burned scarlet, and pentagram revolved around her pupils.

Dark pentagrams were hovering everywhere she looked, and she knew that she was trapped in a domain. It was still part of the Mountain but in a different area.

"Hm. . ." Ferris scratched the itch of her burnt head. Hundreds of specters charged towards her as well as dead wolves, but she didn\'t have to lift a finger when dealing with these lesser beings.

Before the ghosts could come close, they were burned by the darkest fire that spared not even a tiny spec of soul. The beasts whimpered, and their cries scraped her ears when her shadows pierced them before they could even leap forward.

The banshees hiding above were dealt with by her wisps which she summoned to hunt them down.

The undead? "Heh. Don\'t make me laugh."

Ferris whisked her hand, and all the pentagrams exploded. The heavy fog cleared, and she was baffled at the realization that she was in the same spot before Ryu disappeared. Before the thick fog kicked in. She hadn\'t been teleported.

Ferris\'s tongue clicked. She had to find Ryu –– fast! He didn\'t know how to use mana, and she bet he couldn\'t see the pentagrams. He\'d be stuck with all the undead, draining him his life.

Ferris stretched her legs, and in a split second, she sprinted deeper into the Mountain, leaving after image in her wake. Every pentagram she saw she destroyed, and every undead that barged her way were burned to dust before they could even gasp their last breath.

Domain. Ferris thought. The last time she checked, the Mountain of the dead didn\'t have a high-rank undead. And even so, to be a dominion of a domain, one had to be a hundred years or more and had to be a part when the domain was formed.

Could it be an evolve specter or ghoul? They were the only oldest beings that inhabited the mountains.

Ferris clicked her tongue when a group of specters barged her way.

"Out of my way!" Ferris bellowed and whisked her hands. A burst of flames engulfed the rows of specters, and wisps of darkest fire revolved around her and shot in all directions, seeking banshees to burn.

As Ferris swept into the mountains, the fog cleared with beasts\' corpses trialing her path.

Ferris frowned when she sensed movement. She skidded to a stop and brandished her knives in both hands.

"These pentagrams are none ending."

"How much more till we reach the carriage?"

The pentagram broke one after another, and with it, the fog cleared, and the specters retreated in disarray. Beyond the disseminating haze, Dorian and the others appeared.

Ferris relaxed her stance, and Dorian\'s eyes widened upon seeing her.

"Ferris!" he said and ran to her. "Boy, I\'m glad to finally see someone on our side." Dorian looked around and asked, "Where\'s Ryu?"

Ferris restrained a scowl. "We got separated."

Dorian sighed. "We all are." He took in a mouthful of air and let it out in one go. "We have to find the carriage soon, or we won\'t get paid."

"Is that all you can think about?" Isaac was flabbergasted. "The Princess\'s life is more important!"

Dorian\'s shoulders slumped. "Well, yah. So as gold. We\'re risking our life here. I\'d rather be compensated than getting thanks by a beautiful princess."

"Without the princess, there is no Mortal realm," a mercenary said with an edge.

Dorian faced the other mercenaries with a finger pointing upward. "Correction. It\'s his grandfather, not her. We don\'t owe her anything."

"Insolent!"

"What do you expect from a rogue?"

Ferris sighed. "If you\'re going to bicker, then get out of my way. I\'m going to find Ryu."

Isaac frowned. "Not your master? Not the Princess?"

Ferris raised her shoulders in a half shrug. "She could die for all I care." That was a joke, but not too far off.

Isaac sneered. "A demon through and through."

"If your master dies, you\'ll die."

Ferris rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth to retort but stopped when she felt an ominous presence.

"Whoooo. .. daaaareesss. . ."

Everyone looked over the ominous sky. Rain poked their eyes, but none dared to blink.

"Is that. . ." Isaac jaws dropped in horror.

Hovering above them was an entity cloaked in robes with only his bony fingers visible, holding a staff in one hand. A faint haze of green light enveloped its being. There were rays of greenish glow like tentacles radiated from what his face was supposed to be. Screaming souls sucked in those rays, and its hallowed eyes glowed in anomaly.

(Pic)

Its oppression was pounding against them, heavier and heavier. Their soul shook and almost got sucked with just its voice as it spoke like it was hissing and gurgling blood.

"Whoooo. .. daaarreesss. .. enter my. .. domaaaiinn. .. ?"

Dorian gulped. Sweat trickled from the side of his face. "A Wraith?"