The second female lead Dual Cultivates

The full moon was a beautiful sight to behold. It shined down on the trio and their companion with its bewitching glow. It pulled at Maria's instincts but it was far easier to control this time because of the gem on her neck.

"Tell us if you start feeling affected by the curse. We can allow you to sit out" Nao's assuring voice came from behind and Maria allowed the concern to wash over it.

It felt good to have someone check on her with such an unwavering concern after a long time. But then again, Nao had been such a person since the start and her concern was an ever-present factor while growing up for Maria.

"Don't worry about me. The gem is a big help to me. You should be more concerned about Suna right now. Something is wrong with her" Maria gently nudged Nao toward Suna's direction and the attention was instantly off of her.

Nao's eyes shifted from Maria to the stiff yet functional body of Suna. Suna had finally started to respond to them again which was a good sign but Maria could not help but still feel worried about her. This disassociation was not a good trait for one to have.

"Are you ready? The time is about now" their fairy companion asked as it fluttered around the trio. It was the only one not feeling awkward from Suna's new attitude since it had never really known the demoness beforehand.

"We're coming" Maria replied, putting the worry over Suna at the back of her mind for now. There would be a time and place for it later once they broke the curse.

Suna followed them without hesitation. Her mechanical movement looked rehearsed and awkward while her arms remained tense at her side. She took a guarding position at Nao's side without any words.

"You are on your own from here since you'll need to swim down. I'll provide all the protection I can in the meantime" the fairy called as it cast the necessary spell. Maria felt a tingling feeling going down her spine before she felt a push from the fairy.

Her body followed the freeform motion and Maroa tried to get it under control but it was difficult. Her body balance felt off and her legs were uncooperative with her.

She tried to clutch at her pendant but found it missing. The weight was missing from her neck and Maria felt the curse take hold of her. Her legs disappeared from beneath her to give rise to the fishtail she had been used to. And for just a second, fear took hold of her and dragged her under its cover.

It all happened in a second before Maria hit the water which broke her concentration. The coldness of the water penetrated her skin and the impact hurt her back.

"MARIA" The shout was loud and full of fright. It resonated inside Maria and bounced around her head till she finally pulled herself out of her headspace and took in the emerging glow of the gem.

The glow was much lighter than the day before and it was barely visible. It seemed to be losing its power by the minute and it would lose its shining potency pretty soon. Then it might become impossible to find again.

"I'M ALRIGHT" Maria cried back to the top, hoping that her voice would reach the other side. She did not want anyone else to jump in after her. Not with the risk involved since the guards down here were already beginning to wake up.

The magic pressure down here was tremendous and Maria's body screamed at her to run away and never look back. The monsters were huge as well and likely had magical resistance.

There was only so much Maria could do before her protection ran out as well and Maria knew it would not end well with two people down here. Even the fished down here were humongous in size and far scarier than Maria had thought them to be at first. There was no way she would be able to take them all on her own. She needed another plan of action.

But of course, she did not even get to think of a plan before she was attacked head-on. The fishes down here were not playing around, and neither were the other monsters that lay in waiting for her to come down.

"Be a good fish and don't attack me" Maria squeaked out as the powerful fish's jaws barely missed her. She had come so close to becoming fish food and she did not like the implication of that.

Another one tried to swallow her whole but Maria quickly swam out of the way with her small and nimble body. The bigger fish was not so lucky and crashed into the wall. The crack that appeared in the wall, as a result, was humongous and caused the ceiling to shake as well.

The whole place felt like it would collapse if the collisions continued but Maria had no other option but to swim down. The gem was getting fainter and its light was the only thing keeping Maria from descending into a dark abyss. She had to get her hands on the gem.

Her vision blurred and her head throbbed as magic assaulted her at the worst time possible.

'Not now' Maria cried out inside her mind but her system did not listen to her. It did what it wanted to do and caused Maria's vision to fade out right between the dozen monsters around them.

[Initiating future vision. The actual result of the visions may change depending on the actions taken in the past]

The sky was visible from the cracks, the pool empty and had burned edges. Maria's head pained as she tried to move it around to have a look. The angle of her vision told her that she was lying on her back and her hand looked injured.

Her fingers touched the burned edges of a beautiful golden gem that lay cracked near the edge of Maria's fingers and was a symbol of her failure. Her burned hand flinched as it came closer to the gem.

She had failed to hold onto the gem and it had exploded. It had killed everything and everyone in its path and only left Maria barely breathing. Everything hurt inside her and it cracked and groaned at any moment Maria made.

Her vision blurred and Maria felt the burning on her face due to the salt in her tears. Even crying was not painless for her now and she felt like she would never be able to get up again.

Everything in her body protested against going for the gem. It recoiled at the incoming pain it was about to witness and Maria felt her body lock itself down to prevent the pain from penetrating it.

And then her hands closed around the Gem of Requiem and the pain started. It was the worst thing Maria felt and her hand let instinctively let the gem go.

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