Nether realm

"So, what is this place?" Tanya asked as she stared at the massive structure in front of her.

"I don't believe it. You don't know what this is? Just see for yourself then." Ambrogio said as he showed it off.

"It's nighttime, so…"

"The intricate design of this underground space and yet you don't know what it is?" Ambrogio seemed like he was in love with the said structure—he was stroking it all over.

"Underground, huh? Sewer, maybe?" She asked.

The disgust in his face was palpable. "Sewer? You're comparing this majestic place with a sewer? It's an underground dungeon, for God's sake!"

"Dungeon—like sex dungeon?" She blurted out the only thing that came to her mind.

"Get your mind off of lewd things! What? You don't know any other dungeon than that? What about monster dungeons? That's a dungeon too!" He exclaimed.

"Well, we see the monster in the other one too, right? Like a monstrous dong! Hehe." She said, while pleasantly enjoying the little adult joke that she just made.

"Ah, the filth in your mind! Even the holy water won't be able to cleanse it." He sighed. "Okay, see for yourself then." He said whilst closing his eyes and out came an innumerable number of people who looked as if their soul was sucked out of them. These were the ones that surrounded Tanya that night—ones that went missing due to "unknown" circumstances. And they were the ones who shared the same fate as Tanya.

"Whoa, they look so—lifeless," Tanya stated the obvious.

"That's because they're under my hypnosis." He looked proud of himself as he commanded all to raise their hands at once. "See, they do whatever I order them to."

"So, what? They come back to reality if you snapped your fingers or something? That's what they do in hypnosis, right?" She asked since those were the kind of hypnotism that she was used to seeing in her childhood when her parents diagnosed her for mental illness. She usually never thought about it, but ever since her sister joined the fray, various childhood memories and traumas accompanied it.

"Well, that's the case when the hypnosis is a human one." He smiled.

"What do you mean?" Tanya was puzzled.

"Here, catch." Ambrogio threw a book at her. In that, there was a language completely unknown to her.

"Hey, what's this language?" She asked.

"It's demonic. I got it way back from someone. It's some lesser demon named Eurynomos' spell book." He replied.

"Whoa, is it safe using a demonic spell?" Tanya once again asked an obvious question.

"How the hell would it be safe? Of course, it's dangerous—and effective. Very effective. That's why people use this shit." He answered.

"So, what're you gonna do now?" She asked, not knowing Ambrogio's intentions on showing her the book.

"Bring these people back." He replied with a pleasant smile.

"What do you mean, bring?" The word 'bring' made Tanya a bit confused, since they were already in front of them.

"You wanna see?" Ambrogio asked with a smirk.

"I don't like hearing that from you, but yes." She said, since every single time Ambrogio posed this question, it always brought forth a major pain in the ass for her—although her sister was an exception.

Upon hearing her answer, Ambrogio extended his hand towards her. "Then, grab my hand and close your eyes."

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"Open your eyes," Ambrogio said. It had not been that long since he asked her to close them. Tanya was clueless about what they were doing.

"What the…" She got her answer when she saw a large plain of complete darkness in front of her. She looked at Ambrogio and then at herself and found out that they were glowing slightly. "Where are—how did we?" Tanya had many questions that she needed answers for.

"Even though he's a lesser demon, this Eurynomos guy is pretty interesting. He built this place called the nether realm. Don't worry, our physical body is still in the dungeon." He reassured her, yet it did not sound like much of a reassurance.

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused about the entire event unfolding in front of her.

"This world is in the mental world. Only the one with the spell book or the ones who got the holder's permission, like you, can enter this world." Ambrogio replied, glancing at the spell book which was in her hand at that moment.

"Mental world, huh? That demon could've added some colors here." She said, disappointed in Eurynomos' creativity. It's the mental world—he could've created whatever he wanted. And yet, the place was just a dark, hollow one.

"Guess that the demon's mind was filled with darkness," Ambrogio rolled his eyes as he said that.

"Well, what about these people then? How come they can enter the nether realm too?" She asked, pointing at the kidnapped people in slumber.

"See, there's a difference between entering this realm, like we did and getting trapped in this world, like them. Once inflicted with the hypnosis spell, the nether vines, which seems like the only plant in here, go out of the nether realm and drag that person's consciousness back here. He's then trapped with nowhere to go. Only the one with a great mental fortitude can break through these vines. Even after that, escaping this realm is impossible." He explained and took a deep breath. "That's why I was surprised when you broke the spell with relative ease." He said, making sure that it was inaudible for her.

"Huh, did you say something?" Tanya asked since she saw him murmuring.

"No."

"I see. So, how can we save these people?" The questioner Tanya continued on with her million questions.

"Like this." Suddenly, an assassin's knife formed in his hand. "With the power of our mind, we can create weapons out of thin air, the ones that could break the nether vines. It's all about mental power here."

Not thinking much about it, Tanya conjured up a weapon of her own. It was a sword, glowing with a bright light that looked like it could illuminate the entire nether realm if it wanted to. The nether particles around the sword seemed to be cowering away. Even Tanya was surprised since she didn't know how she created this sword. "Well then. What are we waiting for?" She asked as she waved her bright sword.

"Whoa, I never thought she'd have such a mental fortitude!" Ambrogio thought, with shock clearly being shown in his face. "Or is it something else entirely?"

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