"Bruna, Leon, from now on you will act on your own, but the moment I give you an order, you do so, hesitating for not a single second."
Before the two of them could give Amon an answer, Amon disappeared using a shadow step.
BAM!
The statue's hammer lammed against the ground. In the second Amon disapeared, the statue tried to hit Amon before he vanished, but Leon used the chance and shot three crystals at his opponent.
The crystals were of no use; they simply flew towards the statue, bounced off the orange-glow layer surrounding it, and fell to the ground.
Leon's first step was to test how much the layer could withstand, or if it was even a shield.
Bruna stapped back; she was not a fighter; the only thing she could do was support Leon. A white, glowing light ball appeared right about the palm of her hand and made its way towards Leon.
As the light ball touched Leon's back, the ball circulated at a moderate speed around Leon. Leon made himself ready for the next attack; the stave was, however, faster than he would have expected.
In a matter of seconds, Leon stood between the statue's legs, its hammer raised high towards the ceiling. Faster than Leon could see it, the hammer moved towards him, and the light ball that circulated around Leon moved faster and pulled Leon away from the hammer.
As the hammer impacted the ground, a huge orange-colored shockwave made its way through the whole cave. Leon and Bruna noticed the danger in an instant; the light ball helped him dodge the wave, and Bruna was far away from the hammer, which made it easier to react to the shockwave and dodge.
Leon moved faster than Bruna would have expounded and appeared right next to her. "What is this spell?"
"It's a blessing spell; this light ball makes your reaction time faster. With this, you should be able to dodge for a while."
As Bruna said her last word, she jumped away from Leon. Her job as a supporter was to stay as far away from the monster as she could. The statue, however, predicted her movement, and an orange sphere made of pure destructive energy flew towards Bruna.
"Don't move!"
Bruna did as told; the moment she stood still, Amon appeared right in front of her.
"Path of Movement: Back."
As if the energy sphere had followed a command, it flew back towards the statue. The sphere collided with the statue's back and opened a gap in the small layer that surrounded his body.
"Path of Destruction: One Punch."
Amon executed a flawless strike, causing a red energy beam to shoot through the open area on the statue's back. The beam flew, threw the statues back, and emerged on the opposite side at the glowing orange spot. As a result, the statue crumbled and dropped to the ground.
"Mission failed; the prisoner must not leave the pris-"
Before the statue could speak its last words, its head proked into many little stones. All three of them looked at the mall stone fragments that were left of the statue. The imaginations of each of them ran wild. They imagined who the prisoner could be. How does he look, and so on and so on?
This process repeated until Bruna said, "Let's go guys; the path we need to go is this way."
The two of them, of course, noticed that this was the way the statue was blocked; however, they were not uncomfortable with taking this path and followed her quietly. They keep walking, knowing that something changes with each step.
The previous stonewalls of the cave changed color and became more and more orange with each step.
Bang, bang, bang.
From a distance, the unmistakable sound of something relentlessly striking steel bars reverberated through the air, each impact growing more powerful and rapid with every step taken.
As the eerie echoes filled the surroundings, Leon's lips curled into a wicked grin, Amon's countenance turned grave, and Bruna's pace slowed, each of them reacting uniquely to the ominous rhythm.
Abruptly, an immense force collided with the wall nearby.
"Ah, damn, what was that?"
Bruna's words trailed off as she beheld unblinking, glowing red eyes emerging from the inky darkness.
Undaunted, Amon and Leon proceeded cautiously, with Amon extending their light source to unveil the enigmatic scene ahead.
Within the confines of a cell, tightly bound by chains, stood a figure adorned with long, male ibex-like horns, a gray visage etched with dark, wrinkle-like lines, and a head that exuded an aura of sinister intent. Its countenance resembled one of Hiroshi's Oni masks but held a distinct otherworldly quality, as if an attempt had been made to craft a devil's visage in a mask, only to reveal that this was the creature's true face. Its maw featured razor-sharp teeth, capable of tearing flesh like a predator.
Draped in inky black fur that cascaded down to its feet, the creature arose and began to speak.
"Pleas, free me. I'm begging you."
Even though the creature looked like its sole purpose was to inflict suffering, Leon noticed that the monster had two legs on which it stood upright and two arms that were twisted and broken in directions several times.
Now it was clear to them that this creature was not a monster but a human or elf with an unusual body trait.
Bruna instead did not even think about what this creature could be; the only thing she thought about was how fast she could get away from here and how she could convince Amon and Leon, who did not even seem to think about getting away from here.
"Please free me, my master; I need to save her or she will die."
"Please, Please."
The creature started to reapeat his begging over and over again, making no intention to stop. But something convinced Amon to not leave him.
It was his eyes, even though the face of the person in front of them did not make it possible for him to show any emotions. Amon could still see the despair and the desire to finally be saved in this man's eyes.
Amon walked forward as the first and walked up to him. "What is your name?"
The creature was tall, 188 cm to be exact; it had to look down in order to see Amon in his eyes; however, to everyone, it seemed as if the person Amon talked to was looking up to him.
"Krampus, I don't have a last name; I am not a nobel, but still, please free me, or my master will die; she is to you for that; she deserves to live."
Amon walked towards him and kicked the steel bars; the slammed steel grate was torn out of the wall. Amon turned to Bruna and ordered her to heal Krampus.
Bruna hesitated for a short time, but then decided to trust Amon and healed Krampus. To make sure that he could not attack them the moment he was healed, she healed him only so much that he could move and jump. But do not fight.
The moment he was healed, Amon destroyed the chain with a red beam that stot out of his index finger.
The very moment Krampus was free, he did not charge away; no, he got on his knees and bowed so deep that his horns reached the floor.
"I thank you, young hero and young heroine, for treating me and freeing me. Since I can't fight, would you allow me to come with you? I need to go to my master. However, for that, I need to pass a lot of monsters."
"Alright, but since it seems that you know this cave, you then help us reach the exit of this cave."
Amon spoke, and by the way he talked, Krampus seemed to know where his master was and how to get there; if he knew that, then he could possibly know the way out too, and this assumption was right.
"Of course, the very moment I meet my master again, I will show you the exit. I know this labyrinth's layout better than the palm of my hand."
Krampus slowly arouses and hobbles past Amon, Leon, and Bruna without stopping. He has a goal right in front of his eyes: protecting his master.
Although he had already failed in this mission, he made a vow to his own soul that he would come to free her, and then he would really protect her with his life.