critical hit

4. make a wisdom saving throw

The rest of the week flew by in a blur of flirty texts, silly Snapchats, and a sushi date on Tuesday evening. Now it was Sunday, and Natsu and Gray were standing in the entrance to the basement, holding hands while Sting raised an eyebrow at them.

"Finally!" He grinned. "Glad my subterfuge worked."

"Shut all the way up," Natsu grumbled, waving his notebook in Sting's direction. "You're an asshole."

Sting picked up a Skittle from the bowl in front of him and tossed it at Natsu's forehead. "I'm an asshole that got you a date," he insisted. "I believe what you meant to say is 'thank you.'"

Natsu rolled his eyes before turning to Gray and kissing him on the cheek. "Ignore him," he said quietly, smiling at the pink flush that crept across Gray's face. "He's always a dick."

"I know," Gray said, laughing at Sting's mock outrage behind Natsu's back. "But he's also right."

"See?" Sting kicked Natsu's ankle as he let go of Gray's hand and settled down at his spot at the table.

"And how long did it take you to decide to ask Rogue out?" Natsu asked, setting his dice bag on the table and raising an eyebrow at Sting. "Six months? Seven?"

"Over a year," Rogue interjected from his spot at the end of the table. "Technically we knew each other for almost three years before he said anything."

"Look," Sting started indignantly, but was saved from having to explain himself by the arrival of Erza. Everyone immediately sat up in their chairs, organizing their character sheets and pulling out dice as she dropped her books on the table.

"Are we ready?" she asked as she settled down in her chair. The excited look on her face made Natsu grin, and he could see the feeling was mutual when he looked around the table. "Everyone remember what happened last time?"

"We freed the prisoners," Gray said, tapping his pencil against the sheets of paper where he kept his notes. "But the summoning spell went off anyway, and we were—"

o.o.o.o.o.o

"—too late."

The demon's horns breached the portal, tearing through the reddish miasma as a foul black smoke filled the air. The stench of brimstone and burned flesh followed it and Gray coughed, covering his mouth with his sleeve.

"C'mon," he said, grabbing Sting's arm and nodding toward the wall. Natsu and Rogue were back by the door, herding the last of the prisoners to the stairs. Natsu turned around and made eye contact with Gray across the roof. His expression was grim, and he was pressing his hand over his side where a reddish stain was spreading through his robes.

"We can't let this thing get out," Sting insisted, pulling his arm out of Gray's grip. "If it makes it through the summoning circle, we're fucked." He gestured to the lines of blood that had been painted along the rooftop. The sight of that – and the pile of corpses that were lying next to the tree – made Gray's stomach churn.

"I can't do much else," he said, flexing his fingers as he dug deep for his magic. The well of power that usually surged through him was barely there. "I don't have any offensive spells left."

Sting looked back to Rogue and Natsu, then hefted his greatsword and turned back to the monster. "We have to do something. I'll keep it busy; you take care of those three. If you can take them out, it should weaken this bastard enough to kill it." He gestured to the three cultists standing by the portal before saying a quiet prayer under his breath and charging toward the demon.