Aidan ran along the passageway. The flame of the torch swayed as Hussav turned to the right. Beyond the passage was a vast cave with stalactites hanging high on the ceiling. The walls were carved to make rough stairs that led to a stage above.
His friends were chained on the platform. They seemed unconscious.
Three black-robed men pushed them to the edge of the platform. Two of them stood to the sides. They raised their hands. Their black sleeves fell and revealed their skeleton fingers—They're not human!
"Hussa Ibilis!" They chanted, their voice reverberated and echoed in the cave.
"Hussa Ibilis!"
The cave trembled, stalactites crashed to the ground. Bats squeaked and fluttered away. What are they going to do?
"Hussa Ibilis!"
The ground below the platform cracked and blood-red light came from the fissure. The crevice spewed out dark-red energy like gas. They sizzled in the air with rotting smells.
"Hussa Ibilis!"
The caves trembled again and the crevis widened. Spewing out dark-red flames as it came from hell itself. Dark twisted hands crawled out of the crevices. Filling the crack and reached out to the stage. They begged for something. They desired for something—they yearned for sacrifice!
They wanted to sacrifice my friend!
Aidan ran towards the stairs, took a stone on the ground, and threw it towards one of the robed men.
The skeleton fingers of the robed man twisted and the rock that flew towards him exploded into dust.
Curses! They are also external users! Regardless, he needed to stop their chant or his friend will be sacrificed. Aidan took a handful of rocks as he ran towards the stairs. He imbued the rocks with fate energy and flung them towards the robed man.
The other robed man twisted his bony finger and the rocks shattered.
Aidan used [Powered Kick] to kick the ground and he leaped towards the stairs.
The two robed men twisted their fingers.
Crack!
Dark-red energy shot towards Aidan. It turned into sharp bones and stabbed him
Aidan flinched and gritted his teeth as he crashed onto the stairs. Another torrent of sharp bones flew towards him. He rolled and leaped towards the platform.
The three robed men turned around to face him. They raised both of their skeleton hands, and torrents of sharp bones materialized in the air. The torrent of bones rushed towards him
[Perfect Defense]!
Aidan increased his reaction speed by 15% by activating this ability. Rolling and dodging. He twisted to the left, duck to the right. Up and down, low and high. His feet shuffled and spun around like he was dancing.
At the moment a sharp bone flew to the side of his face, he grabbed it and flung it towards the robed men. The sharp bones, imbued with fate energy stabbed one of the robed men and flung him away.
You have killed a member of the Ibilis Sektasi, gaining 120 experience!
So little EXP!
Aidan grabbed two sharp bones and shot towards the last two skeletons. The sharp bones slammed them, throwing them away, and only leaving a pile of bones on the ground.
You have killed a member of the Ibilis Sektasi, gaining 120 experience!
You have killed a member of the Ibilis Sektasi, gaining 120 experience!
Suddenly, the cave trembled. And the dark-red energy that filled the caves converged and returned to the hellish rift. The demonic arms retreated and the crack closed itself.
Aidan fell to his knees. Realizing sharp bones all over his body, he pulled them out one by one and healed himself. The use of [Internal Healing] put a strain on his energy. He wondered why didn't everyone learn this miraculous ability. Apparently, it consumed too much energy!
Your ability [Hard Muscle] has leveled up
Lv.1 -> Lv.2
[Hard Muscle] (Passive) (Lv2). Increasing the durability of the muscle to reduce the damage received to the physical body. 5% damage reduction. Note: Damage with penetration trait may reduce the effect of this ability
That damage reduction would be useful.
Sofiel, Gomon, Siraye, And Kalukaga lied on the floor. They sleep so soundly despite the reverberating noise and the fight. Too soundly in fact. It would be troublesome if those skeletons use a demonic technique to put his friend to sleep.
He stood up. Taking a deep breath of fate energy, and healed them one by one. This action dried his energy reserved. The sensation of having no fate energy was worse than having no stamina left. Breathing was hard enough, not to mention moving. With that he let himself fall to the ground.
"Sir!" Hussav rushed to his side and put a finger under his nose. "You're still breathing, good."
He looked to the side. "Ollel, Alladd. The two of you go bring some water for sir and his friends. Wev, Joll. You stay here and help me unchained our new friends. The rest of you can go explore the cave and take anything useful. If you can, grab as many weapons as you can and pile them here. If you find a stick, take it. Even a stick would be better than nothing."
The others immediately went to work. Grabbing the sharp bones on the ground and piling them in the corner. It surprised him that these captives would follow orders so well and so organized. But Hussav didn't seem like an ordinary man. Something about his voice and his demeanor told him that this man was used to be in command.
Hussav lifted his head and put a stack of clothes under his head. "You'll be fine, sir. Your friend is not hurt in any way. Wev and Joll have unchained them."
Aidan moved his eyes to the corner. Kalukaga, who was hugging his hammer-axe, and the others lied on the ground with a stack of ragged clothes under their heads. Two shirtless men checked his friend's breathing and heartbeat. He couldn't believe they even went shirtless just to give him and his friends a pillow. Though he had to admit, it was much more comfortable than the stone ground.
The still and cold caves dried his lips and seared his throat. It had been long ago since he felt this familiar yet painful sensation.
Hussav noted his face then panicked. "Ollel, Alladd. Hurry up!"
It was raining that day. The memory had seared into him, and it was impossible to forget. Yet even when his throat burned, he didn't dare to leave the nasty sewer to stick out his tongue.
His vision turned blurry.
"Ollel! Alladd! Hurry!"
Aidan closed his eyes. He felt tired and just want to take a short nap.
Splash!
Refreshing water ran through his throat, stopping the searing pain and wetting his dry lips.
He opened his eyes. A shirtless man with a bucket looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. The man was thin like any other man he'd seen around here. Bones protruded out of their chest. For how long had these people been here? Aidan sat up and breathed in.
"Thank you," Aidan said.
"Ugh. Where Am I?" Gomon said, rubbing his eyes. "And who are you, people? Oh, Aidan didn't see you there. How's it going, buddy?"
Aidan smiled. "I'm doing good, Gomon." Aidan stood. "Help me wake the others."
"I can do that. But you have to be the one who wakes up Kalukaga. Last time he tried to swing his hamaxe at me."
Aidan patted off the dust on his clothes. "Hamaxe?"
"Yes. The fusion of hammer and axe. It's such a simple and easy-to-understand term."
Aidan walked to Kalukaga who lied with his hamaxe in his arms. So this weapon was called hamaxe. It sounded so much better than hammer-axe. He put his hands on the lion-man's shoulder.
Should He use [Perfect Defense]? If kalukaga swing the axe, that would be bad wouldn't it? Better be safe than melancholy. The consumption per second wasn't that high anyway.
[Perfect Defense]!
"Hey! Kalukaga wake up!" Aidan shook the man.
Kalukaga opened his eyes, roared, and slammed a fist towards Aidan.
Dodging to the side, He slapped the hairy man in the face.
Plak!
The slap seemed to work, as Kalukaga stared at him with watery eyes. "Why?"
I should be the one asking why!
"Aidan! You shouldn't slap your friend," Sofiel said.
Rushing towards Kalukaga, she sat on her knees and summon a little tornado on his cheek. The hairy man had the guts to close his eyes and enjoyed the breeze.
Aidan sighed. "Is this what I get after saving you guys. A near-death punch and a complaint."
"Who punched you?" Siraye walked towards them with a crossbow.
"Did they let you bring your weapons while you were chained?" Aidan asked.
Siraye caressed her crossbow. "The crossbow will never leave my side."
Aidan nodded. "I get it. Both of you are so obsessed with your weapons that even demon summoning skeletons couldn't take it off from you."
"Demon?" Gomon asked.
"Skeleton?" Sofiel raised her eyebrow.
"We'll talk about that later. Right now we need to get out of here. And I also bring a few capable friends to help us."
Hussav waved. "Hello."
"With the five of us children of fate. We can fight our way out," Aidan said.
Gomon scratched his cheek. "They took my golem and my equipment." He fumbled his hair and took out a small rod. "Luckily they didn't find this."
Aidan nodded. "Let's get out of here." He turned to Hussav. "Do you know the way?"
Hussav smiled. "We've been mapping the entire cave inside our mind for months. I can take you guys out of here with my eyes closed. The only problem is those demon summoning people that blocked our exit."
"Weird," Gomon said. "The Ibilis Sektasi never had anything to do with demons."
Siraye nodded. "And I never heard they kidnap people before."
"Maybe they've changed job," Aidan said. "Come on, Hussav. Lead the way."
They made their way down the stairs. The other captives had spears, bone necklaces, and bone blades with them. Not sure what the necklace was for. Then they entered the tunnel.
The passageway was dark. But with ten men holding torches in their midst, the darkness avoided them. The light and the number brought a sense of security within him. The feeling of being safe within a pack was never more apparent when you're about to fight for your life.
There was a sound of footsteps and a tribesman walked out from the left.
Aidan rushed towards him and blasted his head.
"You. You killed him," Sofiel said, horror on her face.
Aidan swung his arms to clean the stain. "When I kill I don't think about the life I ended. I think about the lives I saved."
Under her gaze, Aidan approached her. "Sofiel. There will be a lot of killing ahead of us. These men. They don't treat us as humans. It's better to return the favor."
"Bu-"
"We don't have a choice," Aidan said, taking the spear from the dead man's hand. "Unless you want all of us to offer our necks to them."
Sofiel turned her gaze to the hunters. Then her eyes reflect that of shame and guilt and doubt.
Aidan grabbed her shoulders. "You're a strong girl, Sofiel. I know it's hard to accept. But this is reality. Keep that in mind and you won't have any regret. Don't make mistakes as I did."
Hussav smiled. "That is correct, young lady. Need not to worry. We men will be the ones to stain our hand while you can enjoy your time at the rear." He turned his head. "Isn't that right boys?!"
"Yeah!"
"The captain is right. A young girl shouldn't stain her hand!"
"Definitely. Young miss doesn't need to do anything!"
Sofiel took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright. I will help as much as I can."
There was determination on her face. But Aidan knew that was merely a flicker of flame. A gust of wind and the flame would die. He hoped the way ahead won't traumatize her."
"Let's go," Aidan said.
They went forward and turned to the left. The tunnel here hung lower than the previous one with no stalactites above them. A bat squeaked and fluttered away, creating a shadow on the wall. They walked at a moderate pace, keeping the energy for later use. A better use.
The captives moved with a certain formation. Giving enough distance for any of them to move around. Aidan didn't know that hunters in this world knew how to make formation. But monsters on this planet were very strong, maybe that was why they learn how to coordinate among themselves.
Hussav turned to Aidan. "Ahead of us is an abyss. But there is a bridge that linked this passage to another cave. The problem is that cave is filled with those tribesmen.
Aidan nodded. "We'll handle the front."
They turned to the right where the cave was even lower. The fire shone at the engravings on the walls. Deep red carving depicted A demoness with four blade-like limbs, great black horns, and a slithering tongue. She roared towards the other demons and pointed her blade to a distance engravings of a fortress with humans standing on its wall.
"Such a fine carve," Gomon said.
Aidan tapped Gomon on the shoulder. "You can admire the paintings later." He narrowed his eyes towards the cut-off bridge. "We have a problem."