Damien stared into the gaping hole where the demons had emerged. The area surrounding it was barren and reeked of death. Same as the other one but this time, it felt stronger.
He clenched his fists as his thoughts lingered on the humans still unaccounted for. If they were alive, he had no choice but to follow the trail into the hole.
He conjured a small flame on his palm, its warm glow cutting through the oppressive darkness of the cavernous pit. Turning to Aquila, who remained vigilant nearby, he commanded, “Watch the area. If anything else crawls out of here or attempts to enter, handle it. I’ll be back.”
The Griffin chirped softly, lowering its head in acknowledgment as Damien stepped closer to the edge. Without hesitation, he leaped into the void.
The air rushed past him as he fell, the walls of the pit becoming a blur of jagged rock and thick, black residue.
For about ten seconds, Damien free-fell before pulling his sword free from its scabbard.
Thuuuck!!
He stabbed it into the wall to slow his descent, sparks flying as the blade scraped against the stone.
The slowing allowed him to act. Damien tossed the flame in his hand downward, tracking its path as it illuminated the walls. It descended several meters before striking the bottom, flickering out.
“Not too far now,” Damien muttered, steeling himself.
When his sword slowed him enough, he pushed off the wall, pulling out his sword to continue his descent, and landed softly on his feet.
He immediately regretted it as his nostrils were assaulted by an overwhelming stench of decay and filth. “Ughhh!” The air was thick with the putrid smell, and the ground squelched beneath his boots.
Damien conjured another flame, its light revealing the disgusting scene around him. The floor was covered in a foul, viscous liquid that pooled in uneven patches. Drops of the same substance dripped intermittently from the ceiling above.
Covering his nose with the back of his hand, Damien muttered, “What a disgusting place.” He pressed on, stepping carefully through the sludge that coated the tunnel floor.
“I’m not getting paid nearly enough for this.” Damien complained as he remembered the amount written on the mission scroll. It was just around seven hundred gold coins.
The tunnel twisted and turned for several minutes before Damien reached a crossroads. Three distinct paths diverged from where he stood, each leading deeper into the demonic lair.
“Now, how do I go about it?” He paused, his senses on high alert.
Closing his eyes, Damien focused on the surrounding energies. The tunnels were saturated with demonic essence, but a faint spark of something else caught his attention. Magic essence, though weak and fleeting, emanated momentarily from the second path.
“There,” Damien whispered, his eyes snapping open and directed toward the middle path where he’d sensed the essence from.
He waited, hoping to confirm the signal. A few minutes later, the faint magic essence pulsed again, like a dying ember trying to reignite. Without wasting another second, Damien ventured into the middle path, his flame lighting the way ahead.
The tunnel stretched on, its oppressive darkness pressing against Damien from all sides even as his flame illuminated the area. The air grew heavier with each step, the stench intensifying as he neared the source of the faint magic essence.
After about eight minutes of careful progress, the tunnel widened suddenly, opening into a massive cavern. Damien stepped into the space cautiously, his flame illuminating the horrific scene.
The cavern ceiling stretched dozens of meters high, with stalactites dripping the same foul liquid that coated the floor.
The chamber was over a hundred meters wide, its walls lined with jagged rocks and crude markings etched in demonic drawings.
But it wasn’t the cavern’s size that captured Damien’s attention—it was its occupants.
A massive demon sat at the center of the chamber, its grotesque form towering over everything else. It was at least five times larger than Damien, its crimson eyes glowing ominously. Its scale like skin was a sickly black, with veins of molten orange pulsing across its body. Its slanted pupils were red like blood and it’s fangs were jagged.
Surrounding the giant demon were smaller demons of varying sizes and ranks. Damien’s sharp gaze identified several Grade Six and Grade Five demons, with very few Grade Four scattered among them. They moved about the cavern, their clawed hands tending to various macabre tasks.
The sheer force of smaller demons was enough to classify this mission as a Grade Four mission of the highest level but the addition of the larger one tipped the scales. “More like a Grade Three mission.” Damien murmured.
Damien’s jaw tightened as his eyes fell on the humans.
Over two dozen men and women were huddled near the center of the cavern. Some were unconscious, their bodies battered and broken. Others whimpered softly, clutching missing limbs or trying to stop the bleeding from deep gashes.
The worst, however, was the pile of corpses near the large demon. Blood pooled beneath them, staining the cavern floor.
Damien’s fists clenched around his sword as he watched the massive demon reach down with one clawed hand. It plucked a man from the group of captives, lifting him effortlessly into the air. The man screamed, struggling weakly as the demon opened its gaping maw and shoved him inside.
The sound of crunching bones echoed through the chamber, followed by a faint, fleeting pulse of magic essence.
Damien’s eyes widened in realization. The demon wasn’t just eating them—it was devouring their magic cores. It was using the captives as fuel to strengthen itself.
His flame burned brighter in his palm as anger surged through him. These people weren’t just prisoners. They were resources, stripped of their humanity and reduced to tools for the demon’s gain.
“This ends now,” Damien growled, his voice low and filled with determination.
The flame in his hand grew larger, its light casting shadows across the cavern walls. As the demons turned their attention to him, the massive one let out a low, guttural growl, its crimson eyes locking onto Damien.
“That’ll be your last meal!” Damien said in a promising tone.