The paladin's prayers were answered; the Maiden of Anguish was upon him when a revitalized northman crashed into her side. Galen used the distraction to rush to Dana's side; she had not stirred despite his cleansing aura, which meant there was too much venom in her system and she would die if he didn't tend to her swiftly.

Andariel shrieked as Aan grabbed onto her remaining right appendage and hacked away at it. She spun to try to reach him, to shake him off, but her limbs could not reach where he was and his grip was ironclad. A final axe blow severed the appendage completely, acidic blood splattering and eating away at the barbarian's armor, but he was not done. He leaped onto her shoulder and buried his axe there to gain leverage. She grabbed him viciously with both claws, trying to pull him off while squeezing the life out of him, but he kept one hand on his axe to remain close to her face; with the other, he pulled out his mace and proceeded to smash it into her head.

SLAM

She stabbed one of her stingers into his back but even the venom did not make him relent.

SLAM

- "I AM KO'KAL OF THE THUNDER TRIBE!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs, punctuating his blows.

SLAM

Another stinger pierced him.

- "TELL YOUR MASTERS THAT NAME WHEN YOU SEE THEM AGAIN!"

SLAM

- "AND TELL THEM THEY'RE NEXT!"

SLAM

Screeching in pain, her head a bleeding mess, she summoned all her strength to wrench the northman off her and throw him into a nearby pillar. He bounced off the stone and crashed into the ground, his helm rolling away with a clang. He tried to rise back up but the venom was overwhelming his nerves and sapping him of his vigor.

With no more concern for accidentally hitting one of their allies, the rogues unleashed a storm of arrows on Andariel, who decided to silence them once and for all. She shielded herself with her two left appendages and charged.

She only made it halfway there before the demonic corpses at her feet burst in an explosion of bone and gore that shredded her legs. She stumbled, fell to her knees, and before she could rise again skeleton warriors were swarming her, along with what she recognized as the undead cadaver of her demonic smith, and a gruesome golem made from the remains of her pet spiders. She raised her arms and appendages to protect herself from their blows as well as from the unrelenting barrage of arrows and magic.

In the meantime, Galen had reached Dana, and he bundled her up in his arms. To his horror, he could not detect any breathing. His pulse raced as he enveloped her in his cleansing aura, muttering to her, to himself, to the heavens, to whoever could hear.

- "I'm here…come back to me…don't go…please…bring her back to me…stay with me I beg you…don't go."

He knew there was too much venom in her, but he also needed to heal the damage already done, not to mention the gaping wounds in her back. As he felt the last of the toxins be purged from his own system, he looked inward again, praying for the twin lights of purity and life to become one.

He had done it before, merging auras into one that was stronger: he had fueled the fire of physical might with the unbound wind of vigor; he had learned to blend the colors of protection against the elements; he had discovered the light of healing could be a weapon against the undead; he would do it again. He stoked the pristine waves until they surged brighter and brighter still, until their gentleness became jubilant, and the pale blue blazed to white, and the waves turned into a radiant heartbeat. When he opened his eyes, his aura was a song of untainted life that burned away impurities and breathed renewal into body and soul.

Rage bubbled up in Andariel. Her venomous blood boiled at the humiliation she was suffering at the hands of these mere mortals.

She threw her head back and unleashed a banshee-like shriek as a massive poison nova burst from her body, traveling in all directions, slamming into everyone in the room.

The barrage ceased as the archers had to fight off the effects of the poison. The skeletons were completely unfazed by the nova, but they were the first to fall to the demon queen's second wind as she smashed them with her two appendages, then savagely tore into the zombie smith and the golem with her claws.

When all the necromancer's pets lay broken and tattered, she bounded forward, hungry for more blood, and was soon upon the archers who were now disorganized. Some retreated before her, some struggled for breath, others still powered through the poison to shoot at her. She mauled one rogue with her claws before seizing another. The captured rogue's scream was cut short as Andariel's other hand grabbed her head and twisted, snapping her neck.

A bone spear slammed into the demon's shoulder, and she followed its spectral trail back to Cyrus, who was the least affected by the poison. She discarded the dead rogue's corpse like a ragdoll and stalked towards the necromancer, who uttered a decrepifying curse to slow her down. She felt her limbs become heavier, but her rage pushed her forward and she buried one of her stingers in the death mage's belly.

He dropped to his knees, coughing up blood, but the steel in his eyes did not fade and he grabbed the appendage that pierced his gut, his curse intensifying. Necrotic energy traveled up from his hand and her entire limb began to age rapidly, the surface wrinkling as it was sapped of its vitality. The demon queen pushed the stinger harder to rip through his entrails but a ray of frost magic suddenly appeared on her appendage, the ice rapidly expanding from the point of contact. The already crumbling limb quickly froze and shattered when Andariel tried to pull it away.

Cyrus looked to his right to see Talia summoning the beam from her staff. She offered him an encouraging smile but her face fell as the Maiden of Anguish's shadow loomed over her.

She was now the target of the demon's fury, and she had to summon all her courage to resist the urge to simply turn tail and flee. She flung fireball after fireball at Andariel to try to stave off her advance but neither the severe burns she left nor the arrow wounds inflicted by the rogues made the demon queen so much as flinch as she lunged her last appendage straight at the sorceress' heart.

But it wasn't Talia whose cry echoed in the room. It wasn't her bloody gurgle that sent a shiver of panic along Galen's spine.

Paige had stepped in to shield the Zann-Esu with her own body, and Andariel's stinger now lay embedded in her chest. She placed weak and trembling hands to try to push it away but the demon queen slammed her down, pinning her to the floor as she pushed the stinger deeper, all the while staring at Talia with a sadistic smile.

The sorceress screamed Paige's name, and at the sound of her voice Dana stirred to wakefulness in the paladin's arms. She was just in time to witness Andariel draw another breath and spew her toxic mist all over Talia and the rogues behind her.

Another scream burst from the battle-mage's small frame as the poisonous wind blew her hair back and entered her bloodstream, but this time the grief was mixed with excruciating pain, and one other thing: white hot fury; fury that manifested itself in a raging inferno that shot forth from her staff and into Andariel's gaping mouth. The poison breath ignited and fire burst within the demon, the blast scorching her entire face and neck and burning deep into her core.

The Maiden of Anguish screamed as she pulled back, flailing as the fire still ate at her. Talia was in barely better shape as her breath came in short and ragged, her lungs on fire. She managed to stay on her feet, and Andariel turned her murderous gaze back at her.

The Zann-Esu recalled one of her mentor's lessons. Sometimes, fight and flight are the same thing.

She slammed her staff down before her and the ground beneath her feet blazed to life. The Lesser Evil had barely started towards her that she ran with all the strength left in her limbs, leaving raging fire in her wake. She ran as Andariel stalked after her, so blinded by revenge that she ignored the burns she suffered from the sorceress' blistering trail. She ran still as she began casting another spell while the demon queen gained on her and reached out to grab her.

Just as the clawed hand clenched to seize her, she vanished in a flash of static, teleporting to the other side of the room, where her legs finally gave out.

Andariel roared with frustration. She was horribly injured, and though she would heal fully within a day, she knew there were more rogues in the monastery; she had to get rid of these pests quickly or she would be in no shape to repel another assault. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of running footsteps behind her.

- "Help Paige!" Dana screamed as she charged at the demon queen. The paladin complied and dashed towards the fallen rogue as the amazon engaged her weakened foe.

His heart sank when he got there. Paige lay on the floor, a gaping wound in her chest, blood streaming from her lips, her eyes glazed yet still moving.

- "Paige, hold on!" he cried as he cradled her body and began trying to cure and heal her. The rogue was at death's door and in his heart, he doubted anything he did would save her. He desperately pushed the doubt aside and intensified his aura.

Paige turned her glassy eyes to him and tried to speak, but only gurgles came out. "Shhh, don't say anything," he urged. "I'm here. Just rest, I'll have you back on your feet in no time. Your sisters are waiting for you upstairs. Just hold on."

He was interrupted by a scream and he turned to see Dana perched on Andariel's shoulders, her spear jammed into the demon's left eye. The Maiden of Anguish pulled the amazon off of her with both hands and squeezed while slamming her last stinger into her side. This time it was Dana's turn to scream.

Galen's panicked eyes flew from the rogue in his arms to the amazon in Andariel's grip. He could not bear the idea of leaving Paige to die, but the thought of abandoning Dana to her fate, of his Dana dying when he could come to her rescue was inconceivable. His mind raced, praying to all the powers of Heaven to come to his aid, to help him save both of his companions. Aan was unconscious, Talia and Cyrus could no longer stand, the rogues were struggling to breathe. He felt as powerless as the day he got his first real taste of war, watching helplessly as allies and enemies, friends and strangers died by the hundreds all around him.

His soul was beginning to tear in half when he felt a weak touch on his face. He looked down and saw Paige's fading eyes staring peacefully up at him.

- "Go…to her," she muttered weakly through globs of blood. "Dana…Save… Dana."

A sob wracked his body as he clenched his teeth and tears poured down his cheeks. He grabbed her hand and kissed it before placing it on her chest.

- "I'm sorry," he whispered in a raw voice, then grabbed his sword and ran.

He charged straight at Andariel, his battle cry a scream of grief and revenge, his aura turning to gold and blazing brighter and brighter as he gained more and more speed, until his blade was a streak of light.

Providence pierced the demon queen's abdomen the same place it had before and she dropped the amazon as she was pushed back. The paladin kept pressing, driving his sword all the way to the hilt. Caustic blood gushed from the open wound and oozed onto his hands. He grunted in pain, trying to keep a hold on the hilt, but he was forced to let go before the acid ate all the way to his bones.

Andariel could feel her life escaping her, but she refused to let herself be killed by these upstart mortals who thought they could stand up to the power of Hell. She reached out to snuff the life of the insolent knight before her but he grabbed her claws with his hands, resisting her despite the enormous difference in size. She slammed her stinger into his side, once, twice, thrice, and he went down to one knee, but still he would not yield, his hands locking hers in place.

- "You can't win!" she bellowed with a deranged sense of triumph, pushing her stinger deeper into his body. "I will feast on your remains and grow strong again! I am the queen of Hell! You can't kill me!"

- "You're right. I can't," he replied with startling calm, despite the venom choking his breath. "But she can."

So bent on the paladin was Andariel's focus that she had not seen Dana stumble back to her feet. She had not seen her pick up her spear and run. The only thing she saw was the amazon using Galen's shoulder as a stepping stone to leap upwards and drive the flaming spear into her already scorched throat.

That was also the last thing she saw, as Dana pushed the spear tip deeper and deeper, incinerating the demon queen's upper body from the inside. Andariel fell and began to burn, fire traveling along her wounds, the flames licking at her inert body.

The amazon stumbled back towards the paladin. She kneeled down beside him and took him in her arms, helping to steady him.

- "Galen…you need to cleanse everyone…hurry."

A white light shimmered around his frame, signaling to her that he acknowledged her words.

-"Dana…I'm so sorry," he whispered, his face downcast, tears glistening in the fire that consumed their enemy's remains. "I left Paige…I couldn't let you fight alone…help me up…I have to go to her." The amazon's eyes widened with panic. They rose together, each helping to steady the other, and frantically inched their way to where Paige's body lay.

When they got there, they fell back to their knees. The young rogue lay still, her chest unmoving, her eyes lost in space. The paladin knew he would be too late, but the confirmation still broke his heart.

Dana was too tired to cry. The tears simply poured down her weary face. A part of her just wanted to lay down and join Paige in her eternal rest, join Lydia, but duty held too firm a grip on the rest of her. She closed the rogue's eyes and prayed silently for her to be reborn one day in the fires of Hefaetrus, so they could meet again.

- "It's my fault," Galen muttered. "I failed her."

Dana grabbed his face and pressed her forehead to his.

- "No. None of us would be alive without you. Thank the gods for you."

- "Galen!" Talia's voice flitted over. The paladin turned to see the sorceress had crawled her way to the unconscious form of the barbarian, and was trying to wake him, with no success. "He needs help!"

Galen rose and hurried as best he could to her side, hoping he was not too late this time. His aura had already alleviated the worst of the effects on the rogues, who now huddled closer to him, helping Dana and Cyrus do so as well.

The survivors were soon all gathered around the paladin, basking in his light as he tended to the northman, and all silently joined their prayers to his.