In my ecstasy I suddenly heard Athena.
-{Best To Look Out}
I wasn't able to react quick enough to avoid damage and then a Devoid Oni with a really abnormal figure appeared, its hands were almost as tall as its entire being and it was significantly larger than the others, its body was basically bent backwards and it swung its arm in an uppercut that landed right on my face and broke my nose even though it wasn't that bad the result would have been worse if I wasn't Enforcing at that time.
The hit pushed me to the ceiling and as though I was a blur I smashed into the ceiling of the naturally formed cave.
my perfectly arranged hair instantly became quite rough even though some of it was still tied, some strands of hair flailed out from the front and behind.
'I bet I look like a homicide artist that could kill 80% of the population'. I thought to myself, but why would I even think I looked like that, quite the odd thought chain I had.
I was looking around while I was stuck up there, suddenly my brain just felt like it warped upside down.
I randomly found myself spawned in a vast area of burning cabins and houses, ashy corpses and heavy black smoke everywhere.
I began coughing violently while looking around, wondering how the hell I got here.
"I can't."
I heard an eerie and coarse voice; I began looking around more warily.
There the masked man with a cloak was again.
This time he was completely set ablaze in flames of a similarly eerie color; Purple.
The smoke was never-ending, yet he wasn't burning, it just calmly danced on his skin but the flames looked violent to me nonetheless.
"I can't watch this weakness anymore." The masked man completed.
He raised his right hand and there was the severed and ashy head of what I thought to be a victim, I felt sympathy for the victim.
"Don't. Don't feel sympathy. Sacrifice for praise. These are Sacrifices for glory."
"Sacrifices!?" I exclaimed.
"Do Not Sully my name." He said.
The masked man's flames were terrifying, they felt malevolent and unusual. I could barely even think of words to use in a reply. I was utterly awestruck.
"Do not sully my legacy!" He bellowed as though casting me away.
The hand that held the head of the victim then pointed to me and after a small spark I saw a wide wall of swirling purple flames steadily coming down upon me.
The speed at which they came in to cremate me was much slower than I thought it to have been but it was like this was done just so I can fully understand how powerless I am in this situation.
After it made contact with me, I felt like I was tossed into an inferno, I felt each and every one of my pain receptors go crazy.
There it was the broken dam feeling, from little holes to a whole crack and then I felt pain to its most extreme point.
I felt everything down to the point of my body turning to ash and then I returned to reality.
My mind slowly went blank again, like I never thought of anything.
"What was that?"
…
"What was I thinking about again?" I asked myself.
-{You are very lucky, no stalactites stabbed you}
As Athena said this, I looked around myself and saw sharp rock like structures and I happened to not be impaled by any of them, that was indeed quite lucky.
"Are you okay!?" Zane screamed out to me from the floor while Whitlock engaged the Abnormal Devoid Oni with his spear and Wind sorcery assistance.
I wondered to myself why the hell this guy was so obsessed with killing me.
It could be he was only checking if I was okay so he would attack me later like he did before.
"I guess so." I replied while I levered myself free from the ceiling and leapt down.
I steadied myself by shooting a constant flowing flame blast from my palm so I wouldn't get a painful landing like I seemed to frequently be getting.
"What exactly is in Crypts?" This was a question open to everyone, even Athena.
Zane, Whitlock and Athena all showed interest to answer.
But Whitlock's childish eagerness prevailed and he spoke out eventually, while still having a hard battle with the Abnormal Devoid Oni.
"There are many great things in a Crypt, legendary weaponry, elixir materials, maps of other crypts, Keys to other ruins, Jewels for trade and cultivation and so on!" Whitlock explained.
"I see." I replied.
"I smell the loot, boss." Ashford said as we edged deeper into the cave cremating and lacerating every Devoid Oni in sight.
…
Eventually we were all exhausted and we decided to take a rest at a point where we cleared all visible Devoid Oni and we believed we were safe.
I laid down on the floor and then Zane began angrily mumbling to himself due to how hungry he was.
Then I remembered that I hadn't even eaten since I randomly became sentient, I haven't had anything to eat for a few months now.
-{You Don't Need To Indulge In Such A Petty Activity. Stein Made Sure You Could Gain nigh-perfect Nutrition From Simply Absorbing Energy.}
That's quite reliable actually, but I had this odd feeling deep within me.
I was craving something I may not even remember taking.
Madden then leapt to the ceiling and a large gust of wind followed she went into the darkness at the roof of the cave.
She returned to the ground with a few scars on her face and a few bat-like creatures fell to the ground. I thought she killed them.
Upon closer observation I saw she had just broken each and every one of their wings.
"Abyssal Chiropterans!! These things are so good!" Whitlock squealed in joy and began gathering the fallen mini beasts.
Their flesh was dark all the way and their wings looked as though they were waving around like tongues of flame.
"You may be wondering; they are a sub-specie of the Abyssal Beast species; they are simply more aggressive flying rodents and they honestly do taste good. But what do we know? We have never had a decent meal." Zane said to me and Anastasia as we blankly watched Whitlock frolic around collecting the beasts.
After he was done Whitlock just stared at me anxiously.
"What? Do I need to excuse you or?" I asked this because his gaze was a bit weird.
"You are the only Fire Sorcerer here. Put your flames to work and burn!" He said while smiling weirdly.
I never really noticed but Whitlock had quite the well sharpened canines.
"Oh."
I went ahead to sit cross-legged on the floor right next to Whitlock and I ignited my palm with my flames.
He grabbed and broke a few bones so he could skewer the Abyssal Chiropterans and he began roasting them above my palm flame.
The smell from their skin sizzling filled the area, it wasn't all that good as I had expected and Anastasia didn't seem excited at all.
"Hmmm, a campfire?" An unknown voice echoed in the cave just before Whitlock began his feast.
Whitlock angrily shifted his irises so he could look behind him without needing to completely turn his head.
With his teeth clenched in fury he managed to penetrate into his lower lip with his canines and spill blood.
I immediately swung my palm around to extinguish the flame on my palm and I looked at the supposed new opponent.
He was a tall and muscular man wrapped in a white cloth which looked like the one that Abezethibou wore. His head had long and rough brown hair that grew past his shoulders and he had rough skin.
The opponent before me had a different and more-mild feel to his Energy so I was sure he was in no way related to the Fallen Angels.
I was kicked out of my thoughts just as I was already getting a bit cozy.
Whitlock charged head on at the opponent with blood staining his teeth and spilling from his lips.
It was like he just disposed of his childish behavior but if it was because of this guy interrupting us before we had our meal then Whitlock was overreacting.
"This is exactly what I'm talking about." The opponent bluntly said as he thrust his arm forward and grabbed Whitlock like he was a little chick being abducted by a hawk.
"I am the guardian of this Crypt. You need to get out now. Am I making myself clear?!" The guardian screamed right at Whitlock's face before he proceeded to toss him away in a swift movement.
"Leave my Crypt!!" He screamed out and a whole lot of Devoid Oni gathered around to attack our party.
Then the utterly unexpected happened.
Due to the impact and loud cracking sound, I heard after Whitlock was thrown, I expected our childish leader to already be a past tense but then he emerged from the kicked-up dust armed with his spear, and he charged towards the guardian that was encircled by the fearsome Devoid Oni.