I can't move.
What I'm seeing is straight out of a horror fantasy movie.
I know I've been here in this world for a long time but there are things that I just can't get used to.
The fact that everything here relies on survival. There's no guarantee of safety.
There's no such thing as the "main character's protection". One wrong move here and you die. No second chances.
What should I do now? I'm scared.
Orm squeezed my hand and I came back to my senses. He gave me a comforting smile and an encouraging nod. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
I can do this.
We kept moving slowly, as Lion signaled for us to not make any noise. Sly did not turn off the light as it was getting too dark for us to see.
Our steps made a squishing sound and I'm trying my best not to look down.
Not a good time for being curious.
The smell of something rotten became stronger as I tried my best not to puke.
The passage slowly became wider until we reached a vast cavern that seemed to have an eirie glow around it. I can hear drips of water coming from the ceilings as there are piles of bones, undigested body parts and some things that I rather not know about scattered everywhere. The smell of the air is musty, with the scent of blood and something that I can't recognize immediately.
Sulfur?
I gave my brain a gigantic kick when I suddenly remembered to my horror, which fantasy being smells like sulfur.
Demons.
I didn't know that demons existed here. Or that if the pack knows about them.
Then I remembered the pervert's warning.
I signaled to Lion frantically, telling him to stop. Everyone stopped, confused why I was in a panic.
I tried to calm myself down before whispering to them that I know what kind of beings are here.
Sly looked surprised and asked me how did I know and what kind of beings are out there.
I'm touched that he and the rest of them did not doubt me.
I explained to them frantically about demons and how they are immune to our fire attacks.
I can see the grim look on everyone's faces.
We are in trouble.
Yeah we are in trouble IF we do not use magic or they won't transform into their ultimate form.
And to make matters worse, we still haven't reached the bottom. In fact, we barely made any progress since we are nearer the exit than the halfway.
Also, we need to conserve magic as we do not yet know what kind of creatures are there at the bottom.
Alpha suggested that they will only transform as a last resort. As for using magic, they will only use it when we are being faced with multitudes of enemies. If we are only facing one, they will try their best to kill it using the weapons.
That's actually a good plan.
....
It seemed like hours that we finally arrived at the halfway. It was Sly who made the estimation as he said that a lot of dragons usually live inside mountains. That is why it is unusual for his half-brother to avoid this certain mountain.
He explained that his half-brother has stronger immunity against the magic stone and might be able to get it unless there was another reason why he did not get it.
Something far more dangerous than the effects of the magic stone.
....
We took a break as everyone is exhausted after walking in what seems to be hours.
Nobody felt hungry and after seeing a lot of rotten flesh, we all lost our appetite.
Lion decided that we need to take turns to sleep or else we will not be in good condition to continue.
They all made me and Sly sleep first while the rest of them will keep watch.
Lion made me lie down on his lap and stroke my hair as I slowly closed my eyes.
....
I don't know how long was I asleep.
I heard a bit of discussion between Lion and Ghost, with Ghost telling Lion that he has no idea what a demon is and nobody has any record of them.
Lion seemed to think for a minute before telling Ghost that he has a suspicion that based on my description, creatures like the demon are usually found in the Netherworld.
How did creatures from the Netherworld ended up here?
Somehow I did not hear anything else since I fell asleep.
....
I woke up, feeling quite refreshed. I sat up and saw that everyone is asleep.
What the.
That's dangerous!
I hastily wiped my face with my coat and drank a bit of water before stretching my legs.
Somehow, I don't like the fact that I'm the only one awake.
And usually if only one person is awake in the fantasy novels, it's either they will meet the enemy first and die or ended being killed first without knowing why.
Neither sounds very encouraging.
I kept on glancing around, sensitive to sounds as the sounds of the pack snoring is getting a bit annoying and distracting.
Cuss word.
I've got a feeling I might be the first one meeting the enemy.
Why is it always me?
My hands began shaking as I tried to remove my weapons from my belt and held them tightly as the hair at the back of my neck began to stand up.
My heart starts to beat really fast as I have an intense feeling that something is starting to approach us.
I don't know whether to thank myself for having a good instinct or not.
Suddenly I smelled something like burnt flesh.
It started to get stronger as I hurriedly woke Lion and the rest of the pack.
They did not woke up but continued to sleep.
I can hear sounds of heavy, sluggish footsteps that started to become louder.
In my desperation, I kicked Lion on the abdomen.
He woke up, about to grab me on the neck when he saw it was me with a desperate look in my eyes.
Then he heard it.
We hurriedly woke up the others, kicking Ghost and Sly as they were in deep sleep.
They hurriedly took their weapons as the sounds of the footsteps became more and more deafening.
I can feel the ground vibrating as I heard the sound of clinking chains dragging on the ground.
I can see faint shadows on what seems to be two, three, four, five, six giant demons with multiple arms.
I DO NOT WANT TO GO NEAR THEM.
I tied my baton back on my belt as I switch the pistol into using the 3rd attack.
I'm just hoping that I can cause a bit of damage to them as demons in the fantasy novels are known to be immune to elemental attacks.
Then we heard several multiple roars.
I hope that none of us will die here.
I sent a silent prayer to the heavens, promising all sorts of impossible promises, that none of us will die here.
Then they appeared.