But as they stumbled upon the entrance of the hidden realm, both of them didn't see anybody in front and inside the room within the visible angle of view. They sighed a breath of relief. Well, as for the skelebro, he rattled his jaw in relief.
Although, just to make sure, both of them decided to enter the hidden room.
'If the demoness lady isn't here, then where could she be?'
The skelebro stepped forward inside the room.
Kivas followed suit with a leap.
Just after two seconds they entered the vault, a sharp yet faint screech could be heard.
And right in front of Kivas' skeleton friend, was a small floating red orb that was getting progressively bigger at a fast pace.
In an instant, the red orb launched four piercing rays. One of them impaled the skeleton's skull, shattering the frontal piece with its crack expanded through the whole skull.
The other three rays landed on each of Kivas' canine heads, creating an implosion as the hot slime-like flesh contracted from the center of impalement. As the implosion retracted, it contracted once again, bursting his head wide open.
His torch fell out from his third hand's grip.
As both of them fell limp to the ground, the invisibility spell that was applied beyond the passage frame was removed, revealing the heavily injured demoness lady on the floor with numerous scattered bones of skeletons surrounding her, five armored soldiers, and a single tall person in a dark green robe.
The man in dark green robe with tendrils motifs spun his wooden staff, and before planted it on the ground. His exposed skin beneath the cuffs was that of woods and green molds. Likewise, the surface texture of his humanoid face was similar to an ancient tree.
'Ah right, I forgot that they can do this too.'
Kivas wasn't dead yet. His was driven by the core inside the center of his jello-like body. So in this case, destroying his three canine heads had little to no effect, although it seemed to be unable to be regenerated anymore.
He went limp immediately to give an illusion that his soul was not within this world anymore. Just like most animals in the wild, playing dead was one of the most efficient survival strategies within nature.
'It seems like they think that I'm dead and continue with their work.' Kivas couldn't believe what he saw. 'Does a monster holding a torch is really that of a norm? I'm surprised none of them tried to extinguish the flame on the torch. Though, can the flame even be extinguished?'
Using the vision of an organ of unknown science in his body, he looked around inside the so-called Tomb of Relic.
The radius range of his illumination was large enough to meet some of the walls near his location. Numerous demonic motifs of exterior could be sighted on the walls. And in between each red-black large pillar within the room, were the numerous stone coffins that were already molded for at least a century.
Kivas also sighted a pile of items that were being hauled into a leather bag near one of the guards. Those were probably the relics that they were after.
'The demoness lady lost her arm…'
Trying to suppress the pain, the mistress of the skeletons had her lips sealed tight. She couldn't do anything but to look at the ground as the men of the person in the robe scoured the Tomb of Relics for loot. And it seemed like her leff legs were rendered immobile with the big gaping hole on her knee, possibly made by getting pierced by one of the soldier's swords.
But at the impeccable timing, the torch began to let out a golden glow.
'AAAAAAAAAAAAAA-'
As soon as the purple orb was created, Kivas immediately grabbed it with his claw. Luckily, there was the [Blight Expansion] option.
With quick dexterity, he tapped the panel as soon as it's within sight.
His range of perception had become 8 meters now.
Thankfully enough, none of the people within the room noticed it. Mostly because of how the torch was right behind the ribs of the skelebro.
'My friend, your service will never be forgotten.'
Kivas then continued his role of playing dead.
After a full five minutes, they all gathered along with the relics they acquired.
"I must thank you, little brat, for finding the Tomb of Relic that was left by the ancient Crypt's Acolytes." The wood man smirked as he grew the veiny roots on his palm, forming a pulsating white ball akin to that of a heartbeat. "While I might sins for obstructing the fortune of others, there shall be no greater goods than providing the Empire with befitting almighty treasures."
He released the pulsating white ball onto the ground.
"Well then, I hope you plead for my punishment in the afterlife, wretched succubus." The group of soldiers and the tree man in the robe exited the passage, leaving the white sphere and the wounded demoness lady.
"That bloody Ent Priest..." The succubus lady tried to crawl toward the unknown sphere, biting her lower lip. "He planned to seal off this haunted mine for good…"
In front of her sight, she saw the former fiery three-headed beast emerging from the dead, approaching the sphere that was left behind by the shady tree man.
'Is this just me or the bright red pulsation is getting faster and faster in pace?'
The feeling of dread began to crawl up on Kivas' back. The familiar despair for the very first time Kivas encountered a time bomb back on his first life.
'This feels eerily similar…'
The ticking of doom, the incoming realization that the very object in front of him might cause irreversible damage to him and everyone around it.
And from the asphyxiating feeling that he was so familiar with, Kivas could deduce the effective range of this thing.
The whole mine.
The radius range shall engulf the whole mine.
Estimating the occurrence of explosion from the pacing of the beating pulse.
Kivas had 5 minutes until the fuse was blown.
'AAAAAAA- I need to get that lady out of here first.'
The succubus' face brightened a little bit after knowing that her three-headed followers was still alive.
"Go! Go away from here! The whole mine will be destroyed!!'
'I don't understand what you're saying, miss, but if you're trying to make me leave and have your body crumbled by the weight of sediments, then I'm not going to buy it!'
The succubus' leg is heavily injured. Even if Kivas were to drag his own body with one hand and the other onto the demoness lady, he wouldn't make it in time due to how big the mine was.
Kivas wanted to have the demoness lady clinging on his back, but from how he felt this excessive amount of heat, he was afraid that it would char her skin. Not to mention the limited way of communication to have her on his back to begin with.
'Let's just drag this thing out then!'
"No! Don't touch it! Any contact made will fasten the pulsation!"
'I guess that's a no.'
He then glanced at the Tomb of Relics, before scouring to find anything useful.
'Ah, so they didn't take every relic with them.'
Kivas knew that even if he were dead, he would still be alive and reborn at different places. Where else if the succubus would to die, then it could probably be the end for her.
Her wound might be bad, and it might be better to make her misery short, but this is the world of fantasy. The world of magic. If there were something that was nasty sounding ass Deadcraft and the power to create a plant-based ticking bomb, then there should be something to heal her wound.
'I can judge the health and limits of people by just looking at their face.' Kivas thought to himself. 'That lady won't be dying anytime soon, her spirit is too unbreakable for that.'
Not even a single tear nor a yelp of fear. Kivas felt like her life was his responsibility till the end.
After looking around the site, Kivas acquired another purple orb.
And another one.
And another one!
Three purple orbs from trying to find out about the dull and damaged relic that were left behind
'Tch, so it's still up to destiny, huh.'
3 minutes, 42 seconds left until the explosion.