"So. Will you make anymore sounds?"
Aliana sat on a table's edge while looking down at the small statue at her feet. The stone gargoyle had become a lot more docile, unlike a while ago.
It tried to attack the three intruders that it had deemed to be threats. But unfortunately, it wasn't able to judge their prowess before jumping at them.
*Gwuu*
It made sounds while sitting on the ground. Jaden looked at it with confusion for a moment, then moved closer to Aliana.
"Can't we have it do our job already?"
He whispered while covering his own mouth slightly. Not being able to determine what Aliana was after, Jaden was getting restless.
"..."
Aliana completely ignored his words while jumping off the table. She moved closer to the monster, pouring out her dense mana.
The gargoyle wanted to run away, but it couldn't. Petrified with fear, it awaited what was about to come.
"Lead us to their base or else..."
*Snap*
The mana moved in an unusual manner, forming a huge serpent-like shape behind Aliana. Most monsters had the ability to perceive mana rather than see colours.
The fear rooted in the heart of the monster made it shiver. Slowly, it began floating in the air and headed upstairs. It was trying to lead them to where the Demon God worshippers were hiding.
"Will we be fine?"
Claire mumbled to herself as she tried to keep up with the two people who were following the monster closely. Unlike them, Claire was tired after everything she had done.
-[Don't worry. I'm here. And not to mention...]
The voice in her mind tried to assure Claire, but she paused completely after saying that. It was a relief that they had Aliana with them.
*Tap tap tap*
The sound of footsteps was echoing within the building as the three walked behind the flying stone monster. There was no one else aside from them inside it.
The moonlight made the dust on the floor near the door visible as they were about to reach outside. Jaden crashed into the back of Aliana, who had stopped walking.
"You both keep on following it. I'll catch up with you soon."
She said this while getting away from Claire and Jaden's path. Jaden was unsure what to do for a bit, but then he began chasing behind the monster that flew past the bench.
*Snap*
She snapped her fingers together as she saw the backs of her two companions. Aliana always had a valid plan and reason for her every action.
The wind began to suck itself into the café. A smile crept up Aliana's lips, with her pink iris having a slight tint of red.
"Perish. Filthy rats."
She was trying to use space magic on the vacuumed air to blow up the whole building. The whole place had started to sink into the ground before anyone could realise it.
*Snap*
She didn't stop with just that much. With another snap of her fingers, the flames began to spread across the rubble of the collapsed building.
It didn't matter to Aliana if there was anything important within the insignificant building. She had already decided to burn it down as soon as she found the traces of Demon God worshippers.
Even though the sound of the building collapsing was too loud, Jaden and Claire didn't hear a thing. Normally, people would cast a spell at a time, but Aliana was different.
She had utilised her magic in such a way that it was possible for her to cast more than two spells at a time. Using the same ability, she placed a barrier to trap the loud sound from escaping while bringing down the building.
"Now then..."
*Snap*
She vanished into thin air while mumbling to herself. She had achieved what she had stayed behind for.
With that, the place had become empty once again. At least no humans were there.
*Byatt*
As the flames died, black dust flew with a small sound. A ball of black fur rolled out of the ruins. It's eyes glistened, unlike its black, charred fur.
*Kyuuu kyuuun*
It shook off the dust on it violently and began rolling itself. It headed in the direction Jaden and Claire had run off to.
Aliana had already teleported beside Jaden, using her spell. Claire and Jaden didn't pay attention to her presence because she didn't make a sound.
They stood at a distance and watched the gargoyle statue enter a small cave. Jaden spoke while keeping his voice down.
"What should we do?"
As Claire was about to respond, someone else spoke, making Jaden flinch. They had no idea when she had reached there.
"Of course, follow them."
Claire's face went pale with the shock. Seeing their reaction, Aliana let out a sigh and began walking towards the cave.
No matter what awaited them inside the cave, with Aliana around, they had nothing to fear. She was more than strong enough to handle a demon general, after all.
The torches made up of wood lit around the cave's entrance made it visible for them to see what was in front of them. Jaden gulped down saliva as he tried to keep up with Aliana.
Claire was clinging to Jaden's robe. She wasn't ready for whatever might pop up inside the cave.
Suddenly, Aliana sprinted towards them without making a sound and pulled both of them aside behind a rock. As Jaden was about to open his mouth, she placed her index finger on his lips.
*Shhhh*
"Stay quiet."
She said this while pushing her body closer to Jaden. Claire's face became red seeing them act like that. On the other hand, Jaden was just confused.
"Someone is coming."
*Tap tap tap*
Aliana's words made them fall silent. The footsteps became clearer with time. It seemed like two people were approaching them.
-----------------------
"When will we be able to perform the ritual?"
Two men wore black robes with a huge skull symbol on their backs. The sight of them walking alive was enough to make Aliana's blood boil with anger.
From the voice they heard, Aliana and the two with her were able to discern that they were the Demon God worshippers who had visited the altar. They continued to listen to their conversation.
"It won't be long."
Their sly laughter was reverberating through the cave. Aliana could feel an urge to use her magic and bury those people along with the cave.
'I need to hold back.'
There was a possibility that Ricky was kept hidden inside the cave, so Aliana stopped herself from doing anything rash. She smiled lightly as her eyes met Jaden's.
"Let's make a bet. Shall we?"
She said this as her index finger pushed Jaden's face a bit upward, touching his chin. Aliana kept on speaking.
"2 hours. I will find Ricky within 2 hours. If I do, you will listen to any of my requests."
Jaden's face went blank as he heard the ridiculous bet she had put forward. As he was about to refuse it, Aliana added.
"If I fail to do so, I will answer any of your questions."
This had gotten Jaden's attention. Since he arrived there, almost all of his questions had one thing in common: they were related to Aliana.
"... Very well."
He smiled while feeling annoyed, for some reason. He felt as if he was being played around by Aliana again.
*Snap*
Jaden had just agreed to her bet, and Aliana snapped her fingers. The sound fell on the ears of the two foes wearing weird-looking robes.
Their gazes shifted to the huge rock behind which Aliana, Jaden, and Claire were hiding. They slowly began to move closer to them.
"Huh?"
One man's voice came out as his vision slowly began to fade. He could feel himself suffocating due to a lack of oxygen. His gaze fell on the other person with him, who was already on the ground.
Aliana had used wind magic to remove oxygen from their surroundings. Thanks to that, they were able to sneak inside without letting others know.
"Let's go deeper."
Aliana cautiously tried to track back down the path two people had come down. She was using her detection magic to catch on to anyone marching towards them.
A while passed since they started walking, and Aliana's steps came to a halt. They had reached out of the tunnel into the light, which blinded Jaden and Claire for a bit.
Aliana didn't blink for even a second. Her eyes were full of rage as she witnessed an altar even bigger than earlier. Her nails dug into her palm, making blood trickle down to the ground.
'Calm down. Finding Ricky comes first.'
She had managed to suppress her anger once again. Jaden's eyes shifted their gaze towards Aliana upon seeing the altar.
"Why are you getting so angry?"
The very moment he asked that question, Aliana was grabbing him by the collar. Her anger that she had managed to settle down had lit up again.
"What do you think they do to perform rituals?"
Jaden could feel how enraged Aliana was through the tone she spoke. Claire flinched and grabbed onto Aliana's hands.
"H-he doesn't know about it. S-so, stop it."
Claire was afraid of it herself, but she still tried to stop Aliana from going any further. Aliana bit her lips and let go of Jaden.
She knew that Jaden wasn't aware of what they truly did. He had skimmed over the details while writing about Demon God worshippers.
"Follow me, and you will get to find out."
Her magic had detected signs of life in the area. It wasn't a single person inside the cave, but there were multiple responses to her magic.
Claire let out a sigh of relief while trying to keep up with Aliana and Jaden. She didn't want the two to argue among themselves.
They gradually reached an entrance beside the altar. Jaden couldn't comprehend what Aliana was trying to accomplish. The only thing he was aware of was that they were trying to find Ricky, who had gone missing almost 7 months ago.
"What is there inside?"
Claire could tell that Aliana knew something, judging her actions so far. And she was on mark.
"Why don't you see it for yourself?"
Saying that, Aliana let Claire take the lead. Claire didn't ask her anything either. She just kept on walking forward.
"What is waiting for us here?"
Jaden whispered, keeping his voice as low as possible. He assumed that Aliana didn't intend to tell Claire about it.
"How much do you remember about 'those' people?"
Aliana was mentioning the Demon God worshippers that Jaden had described in his novel. Though his memory about them was faint, he could still remember some details.
-Heretics, who worshipped the sole creator of demons.
"How much do I need to remember?"
He couldn't remember every small detail he had added to his novel, but he remembered important parts.
"Tell me the worst thing you remember about them."
As Aliana said this, Jaden tried to think deeply. He had written a lot of bad stuff about them, but what was the worst?
-They sacrificed innocent souls to increase their powers.
Jaden had a weird feeling surrounding his heart. His chest felt heavy for some reason. It felt like he had done something he shouldn't have.
Soon, some sounds fell on their ears. Jaden was getting goosebumps on his arms as his face became pale and his forehead drenched in sweat.
"Did you realise it now?"
Aliana spoke without looking at him. She was aware of the expression he was making. Claire could feel disgust towards the heretics who had attempted such a cruel thing.
The words he had written in the novel flashed through Jaden's mind again. This time, there were a few things that were linked to each other.
Demon God worshippers, Ricky going missing, and them speaking about some ritual. Everything was connected in the end.
-They sacrificed innocent souls to increase their powers.
If that was the case, then the scene Jaden was witnessing made a lot of sense. After all, the most innocent would've been the children who were crying for help from inside the cages.