Rey cracked open the small window on the castle door and did not like what he saw. He hated fighting these things, and he couldn't remember if it was supposed to be these things or just more Neraths.

  [Wargoth - ?]

  A pack of seven Wargoths surrounded the castle door as if they knew this was where the humans would be coming from. A Wargoth was a fusion between a goat and a wolf. They stood on four cloven legs, with coarse, dark fur and small horns sticking out between pointed ears. Saliva dripped from their long, bleeding fangs.

  Higher-tier demons used them as pets or hunting dogs. Those were house-broken and lovable, but these wild ones were worse than wolves back home.

  "Okay, I don't want to say, we're totally fucked, but we might be a little fucked," Rey said. "You know, just the tip fucked."

  "You're gross," said Gloria, giving him a judgmental look.

  Rey giggled. "Did anyone pick the Healing Element?" He asked, even though he knew who had.

  A slender hand went up, and it was none other than Dr. Bahar Karimi. She had told them she was in her mid-forties, but didn't look a day over thirty. She had tanned skin and hazel eyes that almost willed the truth out of you. Rey always made it a point to stay away from her, even more so now, because he didn't want to spill his guts about being a time traveler.

  "I did," she spoke with a thick Iranian accent. "I was a doctor back on Earth."

  "Great!" Rey cried. "You are henceforth the Untouchable."

  "Excuse me?" She scowled.

  "Meaning that if we lose you, we're not getting just the tip; we're getting the whole tool, and by god, it will hurt."

  "Does this guy ever make any sense?" Jerry snapped.

  "It's obvious," Kassandra said. "How will we heal ourselves when we get hurt if we lose her?"

  Their eyes met for the briefest moment before she looked away. It hurt, and there was nothing in the doctor's arsenal to heal that burn. This is good. You need this to happen.

  "There are seven of them outside," Rey went on. "Ten of us might be able to handle them. Melee fighters to the front, and ranged ones stay back. IT Support, Italian Cutie, stay close to the door; rain, fire, and lightning on them. If anyone else picked Elements like them, you stay behind as well. Everyone else, well, for your sake, you'd better have picked weapons that wouldn't put you in kissing distance between those demons." He rubbed his hands. "Let's go get our dinner."

  "Uh…what?" Phil asked.

  "You heard me, dinner. Weren't you all just arguing about food for the past hour?" Rey hooked a thumb behind him. "Food has literally walked to us, and you want to look away. Those things are half goat, half dog. If you have inhibitions about eating dogs, focus on the goat part."

  "But that's demon meat," Maria pointed out. "Won't we be damned if we eat demon meat or-or turn into them?"

  "We're already in Hell, lady. I don't think we can be more damned than that. Okay, no more talking. Daddy needs to poke something with his hard rod." He wagged his scythe before they had dirty thoughts.

  He caught Kassandra trying to suppress a smile. He wanted her to stay behind, but she wouldn't like that at all. Besides, if he kept her out of every fight, she would never rank up, and that would create a different problem.

  He dramatically kicked the door to open it, but it hardly opened enough for one little kid to squeeze through. "Stupid fucking low strength."

  He jammed his shoulder into the door, pushed with all his might, and it creaked open. The Wargoths' hair stood on end, making them look even bigger than they were. The one in the lead growled and tried to dash for them, but Rey thrust his scythe outward.

  "Not yet, big fellow," he said. "Your team is all assembled. Give some time for mine."

  It didn't take them long to file up behind Rey, who kept his scythe trained on the Wargoths. It turned out that there were three who had picked Elemental Elements, and the rest were with him, as no surprise to anyone, Tia, the arrogant blondie, had stayed behind with the doctor.

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  "The big one is mine," Rey declared.

  "Why do you get—" Jerry was about to argue, as was his nature, but Rey didn't care to argue.

  He rushed forward, and those looking at him must've run as well, but he was sure his Dexterity was higher than that of anyone present here. The Wargoths immediately responded by baying, howling, or a combination of the two as they rushed forward.

  The big one, which was most probably the alpha, bared his fangs and leaped for Rey, who sidestepped, swung his arm, and left a nice, long, bloody slash along the demon's side. It howled in pain as it stumbled to the side.

  Rey brought his scythe down in an overhead swing to end its miserable existence, but his buddy lunged for him. Rey caught his fangs on his scythe's shaft and was driven back, thanks to the Wargoth's superior strength.

  He kept moving back, fearing his scythe would break if he got in a tussle with the demon, which he would definitely lose.

  [+1 Strength]

  That did something, but it was still very little. There was a thunderclap, and a second later, the Wargoth was blasted away by a lightning bolt.

  He nodded and waved to Filomena. "Thanks."

  Her eyes widened. "Behind you!"

  He turned just in time to avoid the Wargoth's nasty fangs. It turned quickly and lashed out with its hind legs. Rey sidestepped that easily enough and thrust his weapon into the demon dog's rump. It stumbled forward. He didn't give the staggering demon a moment's respite. He slashed it again and again until it looked like a mafia informant who had talked to the wrong people.

  [You killed a Wargoth (Exiled) – E+2]

  [+1 Dexterity]

  [+1 Endurance]

  The death of the alpha sent the other Wargoths into a frenzy. They bayed, barked, and howled as they lunged for their enemies. Three Wargoths had already fallen, taking two humans with them. Phil was on the ground and unmoving. All Rey saw was a pool of blood underneath his body. The second was Latoria, the Jamaican lady. Her neck had a deep gash as if someone had chewed on it ferociously.

  "Rey!" Kassandra cried. She was pointing to his right with a wild look in her eyes.

  He swung his scythe to the right without even looking, and that saved his life. His scythe ripped through the jaw of the Wargoth and sent him sprawling. He hacked and shook his head. Blood dripped from his jaw, which had been ripped open from the left side.

  [+1 Perception]

  The Wargoth let out a horrible wail as it dashed for Rey. He waited a moment, and when the demon was within range, he swung his scythe in an arc and severed the top of the monstrosity's head. Its dead body slid to a stop before Rey.

  [You killed a Wargoth (Exiled) – E+1]

  [+1 Dexterity]

  The rest of the fighting was coming to an end as well. Ajay was burning a Wargoth to cinders. A rage that didn't fit the quiet lad flashed on his face. Behind him, Filomena clutched a bleeding hand, which was missing a finger.

  Kassandra's daggers flashed with a silvery light as she cut the last of the Wargoth down. The Wargoth shrieked with a very humanlike sound. Its whole form lit up with a silvery light, and it burst in a bright flash. A wisp of white light ascended upwards as the body of the dead demon fell.

  Rey wasn't sure, but he felt that was the soul of the being trapped in the form of a Wargoth. But that couldn't be. All these mindless demons had lost their souls. He couldn't be sure what that was, and he didn't have the time to figure it out. There were more pressing things to attend to.

  "Congrats! You are now officially part of the 'Didn't die yet' club," Rey exclaimed.

  Gloria gasped. "Phil, no…"

  "Yes, really sorry about him. The guy was too lovable for this place." Rey waited a moment. "Okay, well, everyone who wants to be sad needs to do so inside, as I'm sure more demons are on the way."

  "How do you know?" Jerry snapped.

  "Why do I think we've had this talk before?" He tapped a finger on his lips. "Anyways, if we leave all these demons outside, it's just a waste of good food, not to mention an invitation for their buddies to stop by for a feast. Take all the dead demons inside, aside from the burning ones. Nice work, IT Support."

  Of course, these people were hard of hearing, too. They had made mistakes that cost them unnecessary lives. These were hard-fought lessons, and Rey would not make the same mistakes again. Gloria moved for Phil's body and Jerry for Latoria.

  "No, leave them," Rey said.

  "But you just said to take all the dead inside," Gloria protested.

  "I said, all the dead demons, not the dead humans," he replied. "Leave them here, and I will put them to rest."

  "I can incinerate their bodies," Ajay offered.

  "No!" Rey cried. "Do not do that. If you want them to have an ounce of rest. You do not bury or light their bodies on fire. I understand it's a lot to take in, but explanations are for people who are not being chased. We're being chased. So, pick up all the demons, get them inside, and leave Phil and Latoria to me."

  "Or what?" Jerry clenched his fists, and his entire arms turned to metal.

  "Or in the next few minutes—" Rey drew a deep breath. "Oh, we are going to be so fucked. Please listen to me. We don't have much time. Have I done something to earn your mistrust? I found the water when everyone was parched. I found this castle, didn't I? Just trust me on this. I'll explain everything once I get back."

  If this didn't work, he was going to throw hands with the metal man, put a few dents in his head, take him along, and let him witness firsthand why these bodies needed to be preserved.

  "I'll go with him," Kassandra said. "To make sure he isn't desecrating their bodies."

  "Great! Moving two bodies by myself in such a short timeframe would've been tough." Rey bent down and hefted Phil's body onto his shoulder. "Keep up, and no matter what happens or what you hear, do not stop. This is very important. We cannot stop."

  She didn't respond, didn't even nod. She picked up Latoria's body and followed him. They raced away from their battlefield and through the dead, decrepit trees. The demons' sounds and howls intensified as their time ran out.

  "Shit," Rey cried. "They're coming. Run as fast as you can."

  "Who's coming?" Kassandra asked.

  "Our deaths if we don't hurry."