That night when the researchers had gone to bed all that remained were the few on watch and those by the fire, mainly just Carl and I. The others had gone to bed but Carl stayed. Alicia had for a good period of time sat with him and they chatted but now it was just us. A strained silence only accompanied by the fire's cracks as I absent mindedly poked at it.
"Dave," Carl called to me.
"Yes Carl?" I looked up at him.
"Was what he-, was what Denton saying the truth?"
"I don't know all the details but it sounded about right," I smiled softly. "Are you still caught up on it?"
"It's just that… are demons evil? You brought me here so I could see the truth right? This destroyed city… it's a testament to how destructive demons are but at the same time… this is just one side and after what Denton said… I don't know what to think."
"Well first off I don't think you can just generalise an entire population as evil. There are always two sides to a coin. Demons and humans are just differing sides. Some are good, some aren't."
"Then is the Demon Lord evil?"
I smirked, "Do you think so?"
Carl was silent for a while, "I… I don't think so."
"Really?" I was slightly surprised.
"No, don't get me wrong. What he did to you wasn't right but… as a whole I can't say he was evil. Who knows maybe he's just like you or me and is burdened by his job."
"…."
"I thought coming here, if I knew why the war started, then I'd be able to judge the war easier."
I laughed, "You know trying to go by something over a thousand years ago isn't the greatest place to start. I thought it was a good place to visit but honestly I was also pretty curious myself. Things change, ideals change, reasons change. The side with righteous intentions one time could be the side with evil the next. Maybe both sides were evil, maybe they weren't. We can only judge things as we see them and the best we can."
"You know you say some pretty wise things once in a while," he let out a short laugh.
"Those weren't my words but the words of the people who have come before me."
His eyes locked onto mine but as I said nothing he nodded, "How mysterious."
"It was meant to be," I threw my stick into the fire, "Let's go to sleep. Tomorrow we have a long day ahead of us."
"You're right," Carl stood up with a stretch but before he left he stared directly at me, "And Dave, once again, thank you."
"No problem," with that we went to sleep and the guilt in my heart rose another level.
"So this is the entrance…." Gary stared at the gaping hole in the ground. It was located just outside where the palace used to exist. "How did no one find this before?"
Denton laughed, "Well simply put, it never existed before. I have been past this area many times before but not once did anyone of us detect such a large cavern beneath the palace. The hole was a stroke of luck from a battle we had with a passing monster."
I looked into the darkness. Since we had arrived I had been releasing my mana to create a map of the area but so far everything was blurry especially within the hole. There didn't exist many places where there was so much interference. Something or someone was disrupting the flow of mana. It was no wonder why my predecessors couldn't find the place, we relied too heavily on magic.
Carl drew his sword, "How do we know when the area's clear?"
Denton shrugged, "We haven't explored very far. Just clear out all the monsters you see. That should be enough to allow us explore."
"Right…." Alicia tightened her gauntlets. "Anything bad we should expect?"
"The number of high grade monsters is quite frightening but judging from the way you handled yesterday's bear, you should be fine. However that was only as far as we explored. I suggest you take care the further down you delve." We nodded and were about to jump down but he called out once more, "One last thing, please don't touch anything!" I laughed inside, I'd touch all the things!
Carl jumped down first, followed by Alicia then Gary and Sayuri. Before I followed them I looked at Denton's crew around me. They were all quite excited and raring to get going. I wondered if they'd mind having to share the place with my own people. Though some of them were pretty anti-demon Denton was alright. With that thought I flew down after the Heroes.
The darkness drew back as Gary lit the area up revealing an extensive cavern. Multiple tunnels poked out from the walls and laying below them a river which broke through and pooled into a small lake. The water was incredibly pure and reflected the old stone structures that dotted the floor and the broken lights which hung along the walls. It was easy to tell that people had been down here in the past, though from the looks of it Denton's crew didn't make it more than this cavern.
Before we could even take a few steps a roar erupted and from the tunnels. Large antlike monsters poured out. Denton wasn't kidding when he said there were a lot. I thought it was strange that an elite group like his would have trouble but I could see it now. With them numbering close to a hundred, even my elite soldiers would struggle.
"Ugh I hate bugs," Alicia cried.
"Really? I kind of like them," Sayuri countered surprisingly. Alicia stared at her like she was crazy. "But I like them small, not this big."
"Don't let them escape, we need to clear as many as possible before we move on," Carl said ignoring their chatter.
"Right-o!" Gary began to pool mana together.
I stood at the back in thought. A fight of this scale would definitely help the Heroes. So far they hadn't fought enemies in great numbers. With a stretch I relaxed prepared to watch them earnestly.
"Dave don't you dare just sit back and do nothing," Alicia caught on to my thoughts quickly.
"Yeah," Sayuri pouted, "You haven't done much lately."
I just smiled, "They're getting closer."
Carl charged forward and suddenly the cavern was beginning to fill with the dead bodies of monsters. Thankfully they disappeared after a while or else we'd get swamped. I silently watched and smiled at their growth. Each of them was far stronger than an ordinary knight captain. Even Telius may lose against one of them now, although from when we left I had the feeling Telius was planning to become stronger himself. Still, there was hardly a point in me intervening at all. With the monster's level even if they received a direct hit they could just walk it off.
It didn't take long before the monsters were reduced to nothing. I released my mana in a rush and didn't pick up anymore hiding nearby.
"Okay good job everyone," I said as I approached them.
Gary frowned at me, "It's all well and good that we don't need your help anymore but at least lend a hand to make things faster."
I laughed, "Fine, I'll help out from here on."
"You better," Sayuri stepped close to me, "I'll be watching you."
Alicia and Gary sniggered behind her, "She says she'll be watching him."
"She's always watching him, right?"
"Hey I can hear you!" Sayuri scowled at them trying to hide her reddening cheeks. I swear this group had zero tension. If Carl wasn't here they'd probably lose track of the goal.
And on cue Carl sheathed his sword with a soft smile, "Enough talking we need to move on." He looked to me, "Where to now?"
"That way," I pointed to a nearby tunnel.
"Really?" Gary looked at me dubiously.
"It's a gut feeling," I lied. The honest reason was because that was the direction I felt my mana being disrupted the most. Whatever was that way would prove to be most interesting.
"Good enough."
The encounter rate for monsters became suspiciously low. When we first entered the monsters seemed to be running at us in droves. Now that we'd been exploring for an hour there were hardly any more of them. They had increased in strength considerably but not to the point where it made sense. Not only that but even the Heroes were starting to feel the effects of the mana disruption. They began to slip up their magic. Not to a drastic degree but just enough to put too much power in or cause them to resettle their thoughts. The system of tunnels had changed as well. Before multiple passages had been splitting from ours and from a quick investigation they all seemed to lead back to the cavern. Now only our current path was leading somewhere. The stone walls were becoming uniform and the uneven ground formed to once polished flooring.
"I feel like we're getting close to something," Sayuri shook herself apparently sensing the unease. "Should we head back?"
"No way!" Gary continued moving forward, his eye were bright as always. The atmosphere only spurring him on. "It's finally getting interesting."
"Hold it you," Alicia grabbed him. "Let's be a bit more serious now."
"Dave what do you think?" Carl asked me.
I paused to think. On one hand it certainly was becoming more dangerous, even I didn't know what to expect. On the other hand the experience for the Heroes would be great, and I wanted to see what was further. If push comes to shove I could just barrel my way through.
"Let's keep going," I declared.
From that point on we didn't encounter a single monster. The Heroes were starting to get jumpy, they knew what that meant. When an area like this teeming with monsters suddenly had none, it meant that one singular powerful creature was lurking nearby. Judging from the strength of our previous encounters it would be a real menace. This was becoming increasingly more fascinating.
"Stop!" I yelled out sharply and the Heroes froze with their weapons drawn. Something was coming. I hadn't sensed it by usual means but the lack of those usual means. It was like a blank blip on my radar had come closer. "Prepare to fight, whatever is coming is the strongest thing you've faced yet. Work as a team."
"Right!" the Heroes tensed up. From around the bend it appeared. The ground shook slightly with each step and a ragged breathing filled the air. It was a type of lesser dragon. Lesser being that it was a monster and not the real thing. It didn't have wings but stood on two legs with a large tail and relatively stubby arms. Thick plates of green tinged scales glittered across its body looking more like steel than anything organic, but worse still was the its large head which stared at the Heroes with a malevolent hunger. Its mouth gaped open dripping saliva onto the floor.
"Holy crap it's a T-Rex," Gary yelled in shock.
"Never mind that!" ignoring my curiosity I urged them to battle. "Careful that thing can disrupt mana. In other words I'll be pretty useless so don't really expect support from me. Focus on physical attacks."
The 'T-Rex' charged with its teeth in clear view.
Sayuri:
The T-Rex charged with its mouth open wide. Gary acted first and jumped back shooting a ball of fire but before it even reached the monster it vanished. So Dave was right, it really could disrupt our mana. Carl took the brunt of its blow, catching the T-Rex's mouth against his sword. The force pushed him back towards us and he grimaced as he skid back. I dashed forward towards its side and drew my katana into a slash. It was the same movements I had always done but just before I hit it the mana I had gathered fell apart and it bounced harmlessly off its scales.
"Ugh," I recoiled from the blow and tried to back away but Carl's grunt of pain came first as the monster flexed its powerful neck sending him across the ground. Then it was suddenly in front of me. For something so big it moved faster than anything we had fought before. There was a snap and its jaws clamped down to where I had just been. My instincts were going crazy as I struggled to force down my panic. A flick caught my gaze and before I knew it its tail caught me in the side. More than just pain my mana went rampant tearing me from the inside. I flew back and almost hit the wall but Alicia caught me. I grimaced and a cough of blood came out. It hurt so much. In that instant my body reinforcement had almost vanished. It hurt more than when Alicia hit me.
"You bastard!" Alicia growled at the monster. She put me down and charged up herself.
"W-wait!" I tried to stop her but was too late as she shot forwards.
"Breaker!" her fist collided into the monster's head but as it did her expression turned to surprise. The monster hardly budged. Alicia's breaker was a discharge of mana at point blank range, it wouldn't work on this thing. In the next moment there was a crunch. All out eyes went wide, Alicia's even more so as her surprise turned to alarm.
"Argh!" her arm was caught in its mouth. It hadn't been cut due to her armour but blood was pouring from the wound and it was getting worse as the monster continued to bite down.
"Alicia!" "Sis!" Carl and Gary yelled out. Gary began to barrage it with spells but hardly any one of them made it through. The ones that did just bounced off like nothing. Carl jumped at its face and rammed his sword into its nostril. In a growl of pain it dropped Alicia. I dove forward, grabbed her and retreated back.
"Gary don't conjure things with mana. Use your surroundings!" Dave yelled out from behind us. His expression was dark. For someone like him an opponent like this was the worst kind. He couldn't even put up barriers to save us without them being destroyed.
"R-right!" Gary began to chant as Carl distracted the T-Rex. A pile of rubble launched itself towards the monster. The rubble suddenly lost speed when it got close but it still managed to push the monster back. Alicia's arm began to heal as Dave stood next to us.
"This is all I can do right now."
"Th-thanks," Alicia smiled beneath her pale expression and rose from the ground. "Let's kick its arse."
"I'll distract it. Alicia punch it one more time!" I ran towards Carl just as it burst from the rubble Gary had been throwing at it. With a spin of its tail one of the rocks was deflected it back at us. Gary put up a barrier but the monster roared. I felt my entire body reel inwards. Gary's barrier collapsed and the mass of rock rammed into him.
"Garr!" Alicia yelled out but turned back to the monster with vehement eyes.
"Sayuri let's do this!" Carl yelled and I prepared myself. The two of us split up and took either side of the monster. Our attacks bounced back like nothing. Only succeeding to chip at its thick plates but we had its attention. There was a burst and Alicia launched forwards with a furious scream. Her punch landed right between its eyes. Pure physical power. The thick plate on its brow shattered and the monster staggered backwards. It roared in pain causing our mana to fluctuate.
"We can do this!" Carl yelled against the sound, "All we need is one more shot. Sayuri let's go!" And then there was darkness.
….
….
….
When I opened my eyes it was a blur. My entire body was in pain. What happened? I was still in the tunnel but… that's right I was taken out. It had happened so quickly as the monster methodologically took us apart. Alicia was collapsed beside me. Carl had himself crushed into a wall and Gary who had risen back up had been flattened once more. We lost. Even with how far we had come, we couldn't beat it with our mana like this. We were weak.
I managed to turn my head. The monster was wounded but it was still standing powerfully. Dave? Dave was standing in front of us now. I wanted to scream for him to run. A magician like him wouldn't stand a chance. He got tired after running for a minute, he couldn't swing a sword properly, he couldn't even use reinforcement magic. He was always there for us but now just this once I wanted him to run. I couldn't… I didn't want to see him die.
But then he smiled, "Oh man you really did a number on us." The monster roared and I almost blacked out. "Hey calm down. I haven't even gotten my revenge yet."
It charged him. If I could just get up then I could help…. But all I could do was watch. Dave waved his hand. A piece of wall broke apart and smashed into the monsters side. It stopped but didn't do any real damage.
"Hang on one second," a burst of mana leapt out from him. It was pure. A vast ocean that had nothing but energy; clear and perfect. It formed into a golden orb of light and with his hand outstretched Dave clasped it. Just what was he doing? Was he going to throw it? The light of the orb shone between his fingers as he drew it closer toward him and then with a simple bite he ate it. Just what was I seeing here?
A ripple of heat filled the tunnel and Dave smiled. His muscles seemed to burst and suddenly his aura changed dramatically. Every one of his small movements screamed power. The monster charged but Dave just held out his hand. It crashed into his palm, unable to even move Dave a single millimetre.
"Sorry but when I'm like this I really can't hold back." Then he punched it and the monster's armour that we struggled to even crack shattered. Its giant body flew away and crashed into the ceiling. When it hit the ground it didn't get back up. I laughed inside, why was I even worried. With Dave here we could never truly lose. I'd just wish he did that sooner. I closed my eyes peacefully.