After running through the dark sewers I was filled with amazement at the complex labyrinth which consisted of numerous pathways and was spanning the entire city.
Despite the only source of light being the sporadic appearance of fireflies, Sven's ability to see in the dark was outstanding, while in contrast, Julius was constantly hitting the walls at every sharp corner, to the point where he grabbed my shoulder and followed my lead.
Of course, with my sixth sense, navigating in the dark was a breeze and I couldn't help but chuckle at Julius' repeated swearing at the walls.
'Hey eat this, we won't have any time to rest when we reach our destination'
Sven threw us two juicy apples.
"Don't tell me you found them in the sewer waters?", Julius exclaimed as he was reluctant to grab the fruit of ambiguous origin.
'First of all, I did not. I picked them up from a food stall, and secondly what's with the expression, it's not like it has a worm inside ... probably?'
"You!?", Julius may have been a man barbaric enough to be a caveman, but his immense desire to eat a protein-rich meal and his small capacity for bad jokes made his violent aura leak.
"Haha relax Julius, at least we get to eat something"
"By the way how long till we arrive at the hatch underneath the palace? We have been at it for more than half an hour"
'You guys are doing an awful lot of complaining when I am going to be doing all the work of unlocking the hatch'
"Ha, no hatch could withstand the strength of my punch", the usual culprit for out-of-place boastful declarations interrupted Sven.
'Well, the one infused with numerous spirit runes can. A structure like that is highly resistant to a brute force approach and can only be opened from the other side or by using spirit magic ourselves'
'But monkeys like you wouldn't know how to use it'
-Says the sewer rat
'Which is where I come in', Sven's plan of opportunity was indeed quite a lifesaver for our current situation, with a limited amount of time before another Task Force entered the rift.
In the event of a squad's possible annihilation, the Alpha team would be sent to clear the rift and retrieve any artifacts inside it.
'Of course, if I was alone, doing such menial tasks wouldn't be required'
"But you were alone and failed it if I remember correctly", I interrupted his monologue and mentioned his previous unsuccessful attempt, which made him slightly irritated.
'Silence! We have arrived'
Above us was a large cylindrical hatch which had accumulated a significant amount of moss over the years.
Sven made a large jump and phased through the metallic surface.
After a short while, clanking sounds were heard and the hatch opened with the slim figure of Sven greeting us and revealing a smile that brimmed with pride and self-satisfaction.
...
By using Sven's 3D hologram to navigate through the castle we managed to avoid the palace guards, who thankfully had very bad senses, and thus didn't spot Julius and Sven, whose auras were clearly visible to anyone with keen perception.
Getting discovered at this location would mean inevitable death, as every one of the guards was probably stronger than me and Sven.
Although Sven could probably manage to survive a few encounters using his skill, I, on the other hand, lacked any proper means of attacking,
-It's not like I can persuade them to let me go. What a shitty skill I have.
From my initial scouting of the castle's exterior and the images which were shown in the hologram, it was accurate to say that we had entered through the building's basement and had now arrived on the 2nd floor.
According to Sven, the vault, which was built next to the king's chambers, was on the 5th and highest floor of the palace.
But, as Sven informed us, the security on the 3rd and 4th floor was impossible to simply sneak past, with multiple strong guards positioned at every entrance.
A piece of information that he himself wasn't aware of in his first try and learned of the hard way.
Therefore a need for an alternate plan surfaced.
"Sven, you told me about a magician who resides in the so-called Tower of Wisdom, what is his rank among the other officers?"
'Well, as the sole spiritualist in the kingdom he is highly regarded by the king and the remaining officials'
'He also has the title of the royal strategist, advising the king on many matters, ranging from politics, economy, and war'
'After all, there is a reason he is one of the few to converse with the king on a daily basis'
"Hm tell me, it would be really inefficient if the magician was forced to descend the tower every day to report to the king, right?"
{Speech}"There must surely exist a path that connects the tower directly to the 5th floor"
'Oh you are probably right I guess'
A slight grin I failed to contain emerged on my face.
In contrast to my actions, my mind was filled with different thoughts.
-If only I can find something inside the tower that will help me understand the principles of forming a contract with a Spirit.
-Since being a Spiritualist gives someone this amount of power and respect then I must definitely claim it for myself.
Of course, telling that to Sven was not a risk I was willing to take, since he would most likely object by saying that entering the vault should be our main priority.
-Can't have you spoiling the play while the curtains are still up can I?
"Guide us to the tower then"
What Sven hadn't realized was that his sister's life meant nothing to me and that the only reason for us to form a temporary alliance was for me to get stronger.
In the worst-case scenario, I could simply abandon Sven and make a run for it while waiting for the Alpha squad to arrive and clear the unresolved rift themselves.
...
A 3-meter tall steel door inscribed with spirit magic appeared before us.
After bypassing the security mechanisms with Sven's help we entered the circular room.
For an unknown reason, beads of sweat started running down on my face.
My heart began aching and my breathing turned irregular.
A dense amount of sinister aura was residing inside the tower and it seemed to originate from the upper floors.
Sven and Julius didn't seem to be disturbed by it and were focused on the scriptures and maps that were scattered throughout the otherwise empty room.
"C-can't you feel it!?"
"Feel what? Getting cold feet now Jay?", Julius jokingly said, but little did they know this place held more danger than what could be seen by the naked eye.
Upon regaining my composure I quickly stopped the senseless fools from walking into a deadly trap.
{Speech}"Listen, I will go ahead and scout the area first, you wait outside and hide"
Thankfully neither of them seemed to object to my statement and quickly exited the room and closed the steel door.
...
Although the first room resembled a small empty library the reality was a lot different.
A distinct aura could be seen emanating from the majority of the floor tiles which were connected to a crystal the size of a football located underneath the floor.
If my assumptions were correct they served as pressure plates that activated the crystal's mechanism, whose effect I had no desire to experience.
Therefore I carefully avoided any plates that carried the unique aura and followed the long staircase that led to the next room.
Upon climbing the final set of stairs, a putrid smell entered my nose, and what followed was the sight of a chained bloody corpse at the center of the room.
Below its feet was a mixture of piss and blood that no doubt originated from the brutally tortured prisoner.
The more I focused on the cadaver's familiar physique the more I was mentally disturbed by the nature of the wounds on it.
Sharp nails were inserted in its fingernails, its skin had melted from coming in contact with boiling water, its eyes were plucked out and placed in a jar, and finally, bead sized worms were coming out from its wounds.
The insides of the corpse were filled with numerous alive insects that were flowing inside its blood.
"H-help ... "
-HE IS ALIVE!?
~Bliah
My effort to contain my disgust having reached its limit and the realization that this man was still alive forced me to vomit on the spot.
But it didn't stop there...
-English? He spoke English!?
Upon processing the words I heard the prisoner say I realized that he no doubt must have been a member of the Beta team.
-They tortured him for information?
A chill went down on my spine after realizing what was in store for me if I were to be caught alive.
~Tack tack tack
-Someone is here
Reacting the moment I heard the sound of footsteps coming from the floor above, I hid behind a pillar and after double-checking that my aura was matching the room's color, I held my breath.
'How are you doing my dear?'
'Missed me?'
A voice that no doubt belonged to a woman, came from the creature descending the stairs and based on the similarities of her figure to Sven's I guessed she was also part of the Elyan race.
-Sven didn't mention anything about a witch...
'Oh my poor plaything it seems like you are lonely'
'Should we help him recover before re-engaging in our lustful activities?'
-Disgusting...
Firstly, seeing the result of her quenching her lust, the spectacle was definitely something I didn't wish to bear witness to, but more importantly...
-Who is she talking to?
By sensing the energy signatures in the room I could tell that there was no other person in our close proximity apart from the incredibly faint life signs of the man who was at death's door.
Despite the signs of craziness that the Elyan witch exhibited, dementia sure didn't fit her though.
'I know, it's about time I give you your daily dose'
As she seemingly continued speaking to thin air, she pulled out a sharp knife and made a small cut in her wrist.
Blood began flowing from her body into the air and was sucked by a semi-transparent entity.
But that was only a part of what was really occurring in front of me.
Thanks to my enhanced senses I was able to closely observe the entire procedure and thus had the opportunity to peer into the powerful aura of the ethereal existence that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
Throughout the entire duration of this exchange, as one could describe it, the spiritualist's life force was being absorbed by a creature that resembled a small fairy with dark and tattered wings, and tiny horns on top of its head.
-Is that a spirit?
Upon completing the ritual, the woman's aura was strengthened by three-fold and it's color changed from faint blue to deep purple, similar to that of the revealed spirit.
'How long are you gonna make me wait? Come out!', the witch shouted with an annoyed expression on her face.
At that moment, fear took hold of me, and my legs almost gave out.
-Is she talking to me? How the hell did she notice me? How high is her perception? Fuck! What do I do? Do I attack her?
-No. Then what? Run? No, the staircase is right next to her, I will be dead before I reach it.
-FUCK!!!