"Or we can go even deeper, even further away from daylight and die there with a false hope planted in our hearts," Lucifan pointed out darkly. Even Ermos was beginning to get irritated by his pessimism by now.
"If you're still looking for a quick death, I volunteer," Ermos said, instantly earning the youth's hatred.
"Don't talk down to me," Lucifan spat, squaring up to him, "I'm half your age and I'm stronger than you'll ever be. I was the top student at the Sudden Slash school before I ended up down here, rotting for no good reason."
Mane laughed at that, surprising everyone, even Ermos. Ermos didn't even think he'd seen the warrior smile, but there he was, laughing loudly, overcome by amusement. Lucifan went red, thinking himself to be getting mocked.
Even Pash snorted in disgust at the boy's claims.
"Lucifan, I think it's time you went quiet, you're making a fool of yourself," Cherry said, slipping an arm around his shoulders, attempting to lead him into the tunnel.
Lucifan bit his lip in irritation, but he went with her anyway.
"I'm going to be counting on your help," Mane said as he passed Ermos, entering the tunnel after them, bearing a bright torch.
"Okay," Ermos said, in agreement, for now.
Fingers and Pash entered last, trailing behind Mane and the pupils, sticking as close to Ermos as they could.
This tunnel was just like the rest of them, in Ermos' eyes. Dark, damp and incredibly boring. It wound this way and that, with annoying tree roots trying to trip up his feet, and it seemed to be rather indecisive. One moment, they would be shuffling down a steep decline and the next they would be panting trying to climb an even steeper ramp. Whoever designed such a tunnel must have been one of the worst people in the world, by Ermos' estimation.
As they walked further, Mane eventually took the lead for himself and the weakened students fell further towards the back. The quiet Bell was walking side by side with Ermos, continually shooting his strange glances and blushing whenever he looked back. He noticed that she wasn't carrying a sword like the rest of them and he felt like asking her why, until he remembered that she couldn't speak.
A light at the end of the tunnel urged everyone to walk a little faster, drawn on by the promise of the end of their monotony.
They soon stumbled into a hall even larger than the last one, perfect in its condition and lit well by a blue light. Rows of pillars on either side rose up to support a cavern ceiling, and regular square stone bricks offered them a flat floor.
Mane drew his blade as he spied the monsters in front of them. The students fumbled with theirs too. Ermos preferred to keep his safely in his scabbard until he had need of it.
There were a dozen dead men standing up ahead, different from the ones they had faced before, for these still had flesh on their bones, indicating that they had died only recently.
At first, those dead men did not see them. They were all rather busy. At one end of the grand hall, there was a giant stone statue depicting a hooded man holding an orb. and in front of it, there was a pool of some odd liquid, held in place by a circle of stone.
That liquid gave off a bright blue light and from time to time they could see it bubble as though it was boiling. It looked rather thick as well.
One after the other, the corpses climbed the side of that weird well and they stepped straight into that strange pool without a single shred of hesitation. There would be a flash of blue fire at the moment of contact as the last of their flesh burned in an instant. And then, they would fall deeper into its depths and they would soon be gone entirely.
Never had Ermos seen something so strange or so pointless. Coming back to life only to kill yourself a few days later? That didn't sound like the perfect plan to him.
With five corpses left, they noticed the eyes on them. They turned and shrieked their dismay, more human in their sound than the skeletons, for they still had part of a throat to work with.
They rushed Mane at once, running in an animalistic fashion, doing anything they could to reach him as fast as possible, whether that included a gorilla-like crawl, or throwing themselves through the air like surfacing fish.
The students in front of Ermos tensed up in terror. Even little Lucifan revealed himself to be human, showing the true fear that he had. He feared death, just like the rest of them.
It was rather anti-climactic the way Mane simply swung his sword and ended them all at once. Their bodies fell to the floor with wet meaty sounds, followed by wowed exclamations from the children.
"Amazing!" Fer shouted. "You're even stronger than they say, Sir Mane! It would have taken all four of us just to deal with one of those, and you dealt with them all at once."
"We might stand a chance after all…" Lucifan said quietly.
Mane's injury became irritated as a result of his exertion. The white bandage on his arm grew matted with a deep red.
"…Sir Mane, you're hurt!" Cherry gasped.
"I do not deal well with mages," Mane said grimly, by way of an excuse.