Hikari held up her left hand, signaling for Ella to stop.
They found themselves in a massive tunnel network. Spacious, even by their standards.
Drip. Drip. The constant sound of dripping water echoed throughout the caverns.
The glow of sporadic formations of mana crystals illuminated the cavern with their cold blue light. The walls of the cavern were wrapped in thin grey vines. Tiny buds of unbloomed flowers growing all along them.
Buried in the walls, Hikari could sense masses of unnatural vegetation. There were no signs of other lifeforms.
"Ria had told me about the recorded lifeforms encountered down here while the mine shaft was still functioning. Seemed like the undergrowth had claimed the caverns now."
They were in the innards of the hive.
There was an intersection of several tunnels just ahead of them.
Suddenly, a rumbling sound was heard.
Thump! Thump! The sound of massive footsteps followed soon after. The cavern shook from the sheer mass of the being.
Hikari and Ella kept completely still as the massive golem came into view, appearing from the left tunnel of the intersection.
It was as tall as perhaps a zeppelin. Its body made of stone. Vines wrapped itself along every part of its body, growing out of every orifice. Several humongous pink flowers growing along the top. Petals overlapping. Their bright pink glow overshadows the blue ambient light from the mana crystals.
The golem lumbered forward, shedding pieces of debris with every step. Behind it, a horde of zombies skittered along. A third plant, another third flesh and the rest made of stone.
Their bodies were covered in spikes and vines. The agile ones hopped on and off the golem. The malformed ones dragged themselves along behind the lumbering giant.
Hikari kept absolutely still, maintaining her sound barrier. Her breathing kept at a minimum. Ella stayed low on the ground beside her. Even her usual boisterous tail kept completely still.
After several tense minutes, the parade cleared the tunnel, seemingly oblivious to their presence. The rumbling sound gradually faded.
They continued forward. Hikari's caterpillar boots stick onto the uneven rock surface with each step.
They moved slowly. Patiently waiting for patrols to pass.
Hikari dropped a trail of faint traces of her RazenHeir flame. The persistent flames do not burn as strongly as the wyvern flame, but they are perfect for marking the way back as they venture deeper into the vast tunnels.
Ella crawled up to each one, curiously leaning her face towards the invisible flame that seemed to hold its form even after it was cut off from any kind of fuel.
Hikari would pause, wave her fingers, beckoning her to keep up.
Badum! Badum! Hikari felt the beating heart getting closer and closer as she delved deeper into the underground.
She led Ella along in the direction of the source of the subtle pulses of eerie energy.
Deeper into the underground they went. The tunnels seemed to go up and down randomly, often spiraling in either direction.
The mana crystals along the walls got larger and glowed brighter as they went. Breathing became ever so slightly as the ambient mana got thicker and thicker.
Hikari felt her mana levels slowly being replenished by the ambient mana.
Hours passed. Hikari could feel herself missing at least two meals. She tightened her stomach, preventing from growling and drawing the attention of the plant demons.
They did not bring any more food as It was not safe to eat even if they brought more food which would likely get burned the moment they got into a fight anyway.
But their slow pace of march and avoiding fights allowed them to converse much of their energy.
"Halt" Hikari thought to herself as she held up her left hand. Ella understood her instruction.
She scanned her surroundings. It appeared familiar. Then, she noticed a trail of RazenHeir flame several strides ahead of her extending into another cavern.
"Ivory berries. Seems like we have already passed by this junction."
She thought to herself, slapping herself on the forehead in her imagination.
She sat down in a meditating position and expanded her senses outwards in an attempt to map out the caverns. Ella crawled up beside her, sat down and began licking her claws.
No good.
The mineral composition at the depths were markedly different from that of shallower depths, hampering her ability to scan the earth using her hearthstone sense.
The ambient mana interfered with her mana sense as well.
Her ears tell her little. The sharpest sounds in the caverns echo off so many walls that it becomes meshed into background noise.
She stood up. Ella uncurled herself.
"Perhaps we should retreat. We are ill prepared for this. Oh well, at least I got some good scouting done."
She thought, slightly disappointed with herself.
"(Hikari, something's coming)"
Hikari turned her head. She saw a strange floating creature approaching from deeper down in the caverns. It didn't seem to have noticed them, but it was steadily hovering towards them.
Carefully, Hikari made her way to one corner of the intersection. Ella quietly followed.
She waited.
The strange creature got closer and closer.
Hikari could sense its strong aura as it projects it outwards onto the walls of the cavern, seemingly scanning for intruders.
It was close, reaching the adjacent intersection from where they were.
Hikari disassembled her boots. It was easier to move in them. She drew her throwing dagger and turned to Ella.
"This creature seemed like a fine kill. If we can't clear this hive, at least get some high value kills."
Hikari thought silently to herself. Her booming voice would certainly give their position away immediately.
Nevertheless, Ella seemed to have understood her.
Stealthy but quickly, she slithered up along the cavern walls, sinking her claws into the wall and leaving a trail of markings on the way up.
They waited. The floating creature approached.
It was a spherical boulder with brilliant pink flowers growing all over it.
It made a humming sound as it released its eerie mana all around it, allowing it to hover in the air.
Hikari glanced up at Ella hanging from the ceiling. Her claws, including her wing claw, sank deep into the stone to support her weight.
The floating creature appeared in the intersection.
Hikari held her breath. Her skin crawled as its aura brushed against her.
It stopped right in the middle, suspended in mid.
The creature hummed as it glanced around confused, as though it expected to find something but couldn't. A malformed eyeball shifted itself along the surface, the vines shifting in the opposite direction. It repeatedly glanced into the empty space of the caverns that could be followed from the intersection.
A sudden golden blaze as it just turned its eye away. The stone walls were illuminated.
Its pupils suddenly widened.
The instant it turned its eye, it was violently impaled by a searing dagger, spinning with the full force of Hikari's arm. The dagger tore right through the stone and flesh, appearing on the other side.
As its plant flesh caught fire, the dagger was pulled back out the way it went, almost splitting the creature in half, causing a brief recoil as Hikari caught it with her hand.
The creature let out a static hum, sporadically releasing arcs of mana.
An array of slashing flames clawed through its entire body. Ella landed on the ground and folded her wings, watching as the creature burned.
The creature's aura suddenly dissipated. It hung in the air for a moment, before plummeting to the ground.
Only the stone was left. The surface was partially searing.
Amidst the debris was a glowing crystal.
Hikari walked towards it. Her throwing dagger in her hand.
As she reached the debris, her throwing dagger cooled, allowing her to keep it in her strap.
She bent down and brushed off the loose piece of stone with her fingers. The crystal hummed in response to her presence. It shook violently and suddenly darted towards her.
Hikari caught it just before it hit her chest. Its energy infuses itself into her skin, her muscular veins briefly glowed with its power.
It stung. It was similar to the crystal inside the slayers but stronger.
As it entered her body, she felt a sharp pain as it surged its way to her core.
Images of cryptic runes flashed through her head.
"Argh… " she placed her hand on her head as her mind attempted to process the flood of information.
Skittering sounds came from multiple directions.
Ella spread her wings, the runes on her body glowed.
"(They are coming, Hikari)"
— Hikari —-
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[Blessing of Eon potency : 50]