There was only the third demon left. Its figure descended from the wall.
This time, the movement happened unnoticed. They turned and discovered that they were in a long, dark corridor. There were no doors or windows. Knights and mummies burst out of the darkness and chased after them.
The Ice Queen unleashed ice magic upon them. The energy of the strike engulfed the entire corridor. The knights and mummies were torn to pieces, and cracks ran along the walls.
The floor beneath their feet collapsed, and the Queen and the Cursed fell down. They landed on the lower floor amid the debris and remains of their enemies.
Somewhere at the end of the corridor were open double doors, and a knight stood behind them. He raised his hand, signaling them to run toward him.
New knights and mummies jumped out of the darkness at the other end of the corridor and rushed at the Queen and the Cursed.
Black darkness appeared in the Cursed's eyes. Black monstrous figures appeared in the corridor and attacked the army of knights and mummies. A terrible battle began.
But at that moment, numerous sparks ran along the dark walls of the corridor. The floor collapsed again, and everyone fell down.
They landed on a transparent but murky surface. It was another corridor, beneath which lay a gigantic chamber.
Inside the chamber was a huge creature with long limbs. Like a giant spider, ominously waiting for its victims in the center of its lair.
They were underground. And these were the corridors of a dungeon, on one of the lower levels of which this huge, terrifying creature lived.
Magic could no longer be used. They had only one chance left. Otherwise, they would fall straight into the terrifying limbs of this monster.
At the end of the corridor, the sound of opening doors was heard. The unknown knight was waiting for them again.
The knights and mummies chased after them.
They turned around and ran toward the knight at the end of the corridor. The lone knights and mummies they encountered along the way, flying out of the side passages, were killed with swords.
Behind the knight was a cabin. On the side wall was a panel with buttons.
When the Queen and the Cursed flew into the cabin, the knight pressed the button for the highest floor. The doors slammed shut, and the elevator began moving upward.
"The elevator will take us up to the central room, where the chest with the Black Stone is located," said the knight. His voice came from behind the visor of his helmet. "We will destroy it, and then the Demon will retreat."
"What is that creature below?" asked the Queen.
"That is the Dark Devourer. One of the monstrous creations of the Demon of the Dungeons. It captures all the dungeons and underground complexes of the Kingdom."
Suddenly, the elevator shook, and the light inside the cabin went out. The knight turned around and began pressing various buttons on the panel, but nothing helped.
"What is happening?" asked the Cursed.
The knight turned toward him.
"The elevator has lost control. It is rising upward at great speed. This is the Demon's magic. He does not want us to stop him."
"That is to be expected," commented the Ice Queen.
Suddenly, there was a sharp impact, and then the whistle of the wind could be heard outside. One door panel flew off, and they saw that they had risen above the forest, then slowed down and were already falling rapidly downward.
"Prepare for the impact, I will activate the protection," said the Ice Queen.
The Cursed additionally activated the protection of the Temple. And at that moment, he saw the Ice Queen's arm embrace him around the waist. What did this mean? Did she want the protection to hold him more tightly, or was it something more? He looked into her face, but she was not looking at him.
Then came the impact. The elevator cabin flew apart. All three of them rose without visible harm and continued on their way.
They found themselves in a dark forest. A flock of large bats broke loose from the branches of the trees and flew directly over their heads, forcing them to crouch so as not to be hit by their claws.
"This is the Forest of Dark Trees," said the knight. "Ever since the Demon seized the dungeons beneath it, evil forces and terrifying creatures have settled in the forest. Some of them guard the entrances to the dungeon."
"How do we find them?" asked the Cursed.
"We need to come to the Settlement of Crystals where no one lives and crystals lie in the houses. If we touch one of the crystals, we will find ourselves in the mountains in the forest, where the Watchers into the Depths live. We need to look into the crystals kept in ancient stone bowls together with them. But we must do so without them noticing our presence. Otherwise, they will become angry because their peace has been disturbed, and we will have to fight them, but fighting them is useless, for they use unknown magic that destroys enemies without a trace. After looking into the crystal, we will find ourselves near the Swordbearer's house. This is the only way I know to get to him. In the basement of his house is the entrance to the dungeon. The Swordbearer himself is a terrifying creature who fights with not one or two swords. It is impossible to determine their exact number, for it cannot be perceived by the eye. Some say there are 5 swords, some 10, some 20, and some say there are more than a hundred. And all of them move in one unified complex of purposeful strikes, making fighting such an enemy tantamount to death. He is the perfect guardian of the entrance to the dungeon and, they say, has killed hundreds of seekers who tried to get inside. Therefore, it is also better to bypass him unnoticed."
The houses of the settlement stood on platforms, and the platforms on red earth. Several chimney pipes rose above each house. The platforms were connected to one another by bridges.
"No one must set foot on the ground of the settlement," said the knight. "They say it was she who dragged away all the villagers, and after that she became red from the color of their blood."
He climbed up the slope of the outermost bridge and headed toward one of the houses.
He opened the front door and entered. Numerous different clocks stood on shelves along the walls. Their hands were frozen in the upper position, close to midnight. But the crystal was nowhere to be seen.
"We need to start the clocks so that the crystal begins to appear," said the knight. "But keep your swords ready — along with it, monsters that guard it will appear from the darkness. Kill them."
The knight moved the hand of one of the clocks, and a silhouette of the crystal began to appear on the table. The Queen and the Cursed drew their swords. Figures of monsters appeared from the dark corners of the room and attacked them. A bloody slaughter began. The monsters' heads and body parts flew through the air. The knight touched the crystal and disappeared. The Queen and the Cursed also touched the crystal and found themselves in a new place.
A mountain slope. A path stretched along it. Figures in gray hoods and cloaks moved along the path. The warriors secretly killed three of them and put on their hoods and cloaks. Under the clothing were thin creatures with large heads.
They climbed higher along the path. There was a passage in the mountainside. They passed through it and found themselves on a platform beneath an open gray sky, surrounded by mountain walls. In the center stood a pedestal with a large crystal lying on it. Two figures in gray hoods and cloaks stood before it. The other spots near the pedestal were empty. The warriors approached and stood there. They looked at the crystal. A flame was burning deep within it. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, the Ice Queen noticed the figure standing nearby turn its hooded head toward her. And beneath the hood, the creature's large head could be seen. It hissed and raised its right limb, but then everything disappeared.
They stood in the forest. In front of them was a solitary house on a platform.
They climbed the stairs. The front door was unlocked. Inside the room were a table, chairs, and a stove. A thin stranger lay on the bed by the wall. He lay with his arms and legs pressed against his body, with his back to them. And apparently, he was sleeping.
The knight stopped abruptly.
"This is the Swordbearer. We must kill him without delay. Before he wakes up."
He approached first and drove his sword into the one lying there. He convulsed and groaned wildly in pain. The knight raised his sword and drove it into him several more times. The one lying there fell silent.
"Now we need to find the entrance to the dungeon. It is hidden from ordinary sight. I will be driving my sword into the floor, and when the sword pierces it, the entrance will appear."
He began driving his sword into the floor in different places. Meanwhile, the corpse rose into the air from the bed in its previous horizontal position and flew out the window.
Outside, it began transforming into something large and terrible. A dark figure from which numerous limbs began to appear. The limbs held long, curved swords. Also, a large number of blades emerged from its body and protruded from its surface. It was a terrifying, unreal creature bristling with numerous blades.
It moved toward the house and began driving the long blades straight through the windows, intending to pierce through the enemies hiding inside or pin them to the walls. The Cursed and the Queen were dodging or falling to the floor while the long blades, with a clanging sound, were piercing the space above them or smashing the furnishings of the room. Meanwhile, the knight was driving his sword into the floor. In one place in the floor where his sword pierced it, a rectangular hatch appeared. The knight pulled the handle and opened it.
"Follow me!" he shouted and jumped down.
The Queen and the Cursed followed him.
They found themselves in an underground complex. They reached the central room through the corridor. Here, on a small transparent table, was a chest. The knight opened it and smashed the Black Stone inside.
The Cursed and the Queen found themselves sitting on horses in front of the gates of the capital. There were no more demons blocking the way.
The Cursed saw that the Ice Queen's arm had completely turned black.
"Your arm," he said.
"I know. Let's kill the Demon-King, and then I will deal with it."
She raised her other hand, and the large gates of the capital opened.
"I'm returning home," the Cursed said to himself and directed his horse inside.
The Ice Queen rode beside him.