Little Elenia, All Alone...

Silently descending the spiral staircase, the grey-haired doctor adjusted his glasses. His steps were slow but sure; calm and calculated. "Elenia, there's no need to get so noisy now. Don't worry. After all, both of us are down here without his permission. So let's keep this between us, shall we?"

Rizz heard the man's first step onto the dungeon floor, just barely. He also noticed how badly Elenia was shaking in her chair. 

'Hey! Breathe and keep calm!' Rizz telepathically ordered. 'Breathe and stand tall!'

Elenia quivered fiercely for a split second, doing her best to shake off her lingering nerves. She stood up and stored her chair, leaving nothing left for the doctor to spy on. "... But what do you plan to do now, Dr. Daevis? You mentioned my familiar. Why is that?"

"Because he's the greatest specimen I've ever witnessed. Why else?" The Mad Doctor spread his cheeks wide while showing off a toothy grin of yellow teeth, tinted orange under the dim lantern. "This creature is not only a monster in its own right, it can read, write, and speak all on its own. A truly perfect test subject, one capable of explaining its own side effects and thoughts throughout any testing processes."

"But what do you plan to do with him?" Elenia asked again, taking a step back.

Dr. Daevis rummaged his fingers through each other, one hand over the other in repetition. "To procure and preserve this perfect specimen, of course. What your father has failed to recognize, to my great surprise."

The noblewoman clenched her hands into fists. "You can't do that, Dr. Daevis. My father ordered that nothing is to happen to my familiar until we can remove this curse linking the two of us."

"I know his orders well, Little Elenia," the old doctor chortled, scuttling a bit closer. "But, sadly, I'll have to make sure to keep this between just the two of us. I hadn't planned to bring you along, but I suppose I'm left with no choice."

"Are you not worried about my father's guards?" Elenia barked, taking one more step back. 

A wicked grin spanned the doctor's face. "You didn't find it strange that the guard had miraculously fallen asleep in the middle of the day? Hm? I thought you were a bright girl, Little Elenia. Perhaps you need a few more tutoring sessions.

"After bringing you away from your parents, you'll finally be able to relax. And we can get to know each other more closely." 

Flames gathered around Elenia's hands that instant. "Don't force me to burn you, Dr. Daevis. Just leave the dungeon and no one has to know what you were planning."

"Oh, Little Elenia… Tsk, tsk, tsk…" Dr. Daevis shook his head with a parental gleam behind his glasses. "You don't get it, do you?

"Right now, you're all alone. You have nothing to do. It would be in your best interest to simply go along with me, and it would allow you to grow beyond the reach of your father's isolating influence… Isn't that what you want, Little Elenia? I'm the only one who can give you that. And that's the best option now, for the sake of your own safety. And for the sake of not dirtying your delicate face."

Dr. Daevis steadily approached her. He didn't rush, making sure not to scare her into action. He soon reached the third row of cells, putting him only six meters away from the nervous noblewoman. 

'You're not alone!' 

A voice blared through Elenia's mind at that moment, invigorating the flames at her fingertips.

'Fight back! Or run if he's too high-leveled! Just do something!' Rizz telepathically roared. 

His head was tilted to the side, barely catching a glimpse of the approaching doctor. But his true focus was on his system menu, opening the {Skills} tab in a hurry. 

Stepping back some more, Elenia finally steeled her resolve. "You're wrong, Doctor… I'm not alone. I have my familiar. And I'm not letting you take him away." 

"Don't worry, Little Elenia. I won't separate you two," chortled Dr. Daevis, putting on a grandfatherly grin. "It will be important to our future tests to keep the familiar crest active. So I'll treat you and the fiend with the care you deserve… So please, don't make me harm that beautiful face. I'd rather not wake up beside a scarred beauty."

"You'll never wake up beside me! Pig!"

The flames around Elenia's hands fiercely expanded, becoming half-meter spheres. "Eat fireballs, you perv!" 

Fwoosh, Fwoosh!

An explosion of fire rushed over the doctor. But he continued to steadily approach behind a wall of stone rising out of the floor. "Come now, Little Elenia. We were so close during those tutoring sessions. I know you care about me more than you ever cared for your lousy father."

"Die, you perverse pig! Fireballs!" 

Fw-Fwoosh!

"Stone Wall… See how simple it is to block your outspoken attacks?" Dr. Daevis remarked, passing the fifth row of cells. "You may be near my level, Little Elenia. But you're still green. You haven't stopped reciting your attacks for the sake of proper focus."

Elenia scrunched her face in fury, preparing an extra large flame. "You did the same, you pervert–"

C-crunch, Smack! C-Clang!

Elenia heard the cracking of stone at her side, but she was too late to dodge. A flat-faced pillar of stone formed out of the floor, driving itself straight into Elenia's shoulder. It threw her up against the iron bars of the seventh cell on the right. 

"You lack experience, Little Elenia." The old man cackled softly. He removed his thick glasses with a smirk. Licking his hand, Dr. Daevis slicked back his thinning mess of long grey hair. 

"Come, My Dear. I don't wish to harm you for real. Simply accept the truth of the situation."

Dr. Daevis loomed over the downed noblewoman, stepping closer with an all-too-eager grin. "This is your final chance, Little Elenia. I would prefer your face without blemish. But I'll happily accept a scar or two on your cheek, being that it'll still be attached to your lithe, youthful figure–"