Lucas had spent the last five minutes trying to pinpoint the exact floor the dark magical presence was radiating from and finally felt sure when he reached the fourth floor. The aura was so intense and electrifying that he could feel it prickling his skin as he stepped out of the elevator. Luckily, this didn't mean that some big bad demon would be waiting for him. The summoning ritual alone was enough to create this big a presence depending on the preparation that went into it.

He made his way down the long corridor warily. The lightbulb flickered repeatedly, making Lucas feel like he was being thrown into a horror movie. He'd always ridiculed the movie characters who didn't run out of the building at the first sign of danger, but here he was - heading into danger's eager mouth.

He felt within himself, old memories guiding his vision to a dormant pool of energy at his core that was completely unused in recent times. He imagined a trickle of the energy pouring from his core and into his bloodstream, ready for us. The rewarding feeling of exhilaration filled his body as he used his magical affinity to pinpoint the exact room the dark magic was leaking from, else he have a weird encounter with some guests. 

The magical beacon manifested as a tug, too weak to move him toward the source by itself, but strong enough to be noticeable. He followed the pull, passing multiple doors that may or may not have inhabitants. Ideally, he would finish the fight quickly and not alert them that something was happening - although he was sure they wouldn't be curious enough to come check it out. Downtown residents, even foreign guests, knew to mind their business.

Lucas paused at the door that the pull came from behind. It was a wooden door with aging green paint that might've popped out against the white hallway in its heyday. A slate was attached at its peak with the number 119. 

He briefly considered how he would get inside without making noise to alert whatever the hell was inside. His magic wasn't an option, it would make just as much noise as slamming into it with a police-issued battering ram. He drew his short knife, perhaps-

"Hey genius," Markus said from next to him, "how about trying to open it? This door clearly doesn't have an auto-lock system and practitioners aren't known for locking doors."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Don't be daft, Mark." He pulled at the door to prove his point, "No one would be so stupid-"

The handle turned without fault as he twisted and the door started to swing open. Lucas controlled its momentum so it wouldn't creak, wishing he couldn't see Markus' smug look from the corner of his eye.

Perhaps his slight annoyance was the reason he didn't enter the room with his prior caution and he promptly paid the price. What felt like a blast of pure heat slammed into his stomach, the force flinging him back through the door at an alarming speed. The impact of him crashing into the far side wall put all of the beatings he'd had in the past year to shame. 

He took a second to catch himself and make sure the roaring pain in multiple areas wasn't the familiar cadence of broken bones. Satisfied that he'd acquired some bruises and nothing more, Lucas shakingly took his feet and retrieved his fallen knife, eternally glad that whatever had blasted him hadn't the mind to advance to their advantage.

"Off to a fine start," Markus' voice mocked, but Lucas completely ignored him this time.

He approached the door with a newfound determination, the stabbing pain that greeted his every step only serving to add fire to his anger. Just as he was about to reenter the room, he felt a notable presence at his side and whirled with his knife pointed outward defensively.

The disturbing image of a demon didn't greet him as he'd expected but rather a moderately tall woman. She wore a tactical vest over a black t-shirt paired with blue jeans that made her look like she was cosplaying an army veteran. Short light brown bangs complemented hard hazel eyes that squinted faintly as she frowned slightly at Lucas. He quickly realized why her presence had snatched his attention so suddenly; she radiated her own magical aura.

She was a wizard.

"I was under the impression you were a wizard," the woman said, pointedly looking at the knife aimed at her with amusement. 

Lucas ignored her quip, not letting his hand falter. "And you are?"

"None of your business. I've been tracking the summoner in that room for a while now and you..." she looked from his steady knife to the wall where he'd landed. He'd left a pretty significant imprint when he'd smashed into it. So much for keeping pinky promises. "You don't seem equipped to handle him," she finished.

"I'm plenty equipped, lady. I may not have the costume you have going on but-"

"Enough!" The woman brushed past him purposefully and entered the room with much more caution than he had. He followed behind her, his eyes taking a second to adjust to the dim light provided by a sole lamp on a far dresser. 

The cramped room resembled more a college dorm than a hotel room.

A short figure suddenly rushed at the woman from what Lucas thought would be a blindspot, but before he could intervene she had spun on her heel and raised her foot impressively high before slamming it down on the lesser demon's neck. The miniature imp-like creature with blood-red skin grunted under the weight of the woman's foot. Another one dropped from the roof and again the woman was somehow prepared, raising her hand upward to reveal a sleek black pistol. She promptly fired two silenced rounds into the creature who fell harmlessly to her side with a screech.

There was one more lesser demon crawling out from under the small bed in the corner and Lucas acted before the woman could, intent on not being shown up. He once again pulled from his magic core, this time closing his eyes briefly as he harnessed the energy that entered his bloodstream. It felt like he was gradually exercising a muscle that had atrophied after years. The process wasn't as seamless as it should be, but when he opened his eyes, his vision took on the blue hue that he expected.

He focused hard on the lesser demon as it ran toward the woman and was rewarded by a single red dot appearing on its chest. Pull, he thought.

His will overpowered the small mass of the lesser demon and shock ornamented its hideous face as its feet left the ground and an unseen force pulled it toward Lucas. He quickly unfocused his vision, stopping the pull effect but the momentum still made the lesser demon glide toward him. 

He changed his focus to his knife, making sure that it was lined up how he wanted it to be. Push.

The small knife went hurtling forward at breakneck speed, colliding blade first with the chest of the creature and immediately reversing the demon's momentum so that it flew backward into the wall where the knife pinned its slumped body to the wall.

Lucas noticed the woman's brief glance of amazement before she got a grip on her expression. She turned back to the demon pinned underneath her foot and unceremoniously shot it in the head three times. "I didn't ask for your help," she huffed. "I would've been find dealing with these pitiful creatures alone."

"Yeah, you're welcome," Lucas said with a shrug. Then he focused on the more pressing matter. "Those aren't what's responsible for flinging me into the wall," Lucas pointed out defensively.

"I'd sure hope not, they barely reach your hip," came the curt reply. "These pests are just a result of excess dark magic caused by the summoning." She pointed at an open window which explained the chill Lucas was feeling. Of course, it didn't help that his shirt was now half incinerated. "That's where the summoning has gone I'd assume."

Lucas gulped. Of course things didn't want to go the easy way. "So where's the summoner?" Lucas asked. He figured jumping three storeys wasn't in the person's capabilities.

The woman gave him a look that basically called him an idiot. She didn't reply immediately, taking time to poke around the room carefully. "Summoners who do rituals like these sacrifice themselves. Their summoning - typically demons - consumes them immediately to complete their transition to our world."

Judging by her prior reaction this was basic knowledge, but he hadn't exactly had the privilege of going to magic school. "Sounds like they're a bit slow in the head," Lucas commented.

"They are manipulated by the arch demons' avatars into believing it's a great religious sacrifice. It's less stupidity and more blind faith in false gods."

"My point stands."

The woman stopped suddenly, shifting her path to the bed in the corner. She paused in front of it and turned slightly, "If you're going to be here you may as well make yourself useful."

Lucas smiled slightly, his vision taking on a blue hue as he focused on the bed and was rewarded with a red dot on it. Pull. 

The bed was heavy, so the woman had ample time to skitter out of the way as it came scraping slowly toward Lucas before he released his magic. 

"Is that gravity magic?" she asked curiously. 

Lucas raised an eyebrow. It certainly wasn't normal for a person - wizard or not - to be able to detect gravity magic from a visual alone. Just who is this person, Lucas wondered. Out loud he said, "Sure is. My knife doesn't seem quite so harmless now, does it?"

The woman didn't answer, instead focusing on something on the ground. Lucas joined her and saw she was looking at a carving made with black ink on the wooden floor. It was a circle with a number of confusing jumbled runes packed into it with no logical order to Lucas' eyes. He always wondered how summoners were capable of remembering all of this mumbo jumbo.

"Looks like my reports were right," the woman said grimly.

"Right about what?" Lucas asked cautiously, her tone putting him on high alert.

"An arch demon was summoned."