Eiera asked, "Is there anything we can do to help Kai?"
One of the Scorchers responded, "I'm afraid we can't help the wielder unless we go in there, but going in there will increase his problems more." The Scorcher continued, "Right now, the best we can do is just hope that the wielder makes his way out before sunrise."
The Scorchers still had trapped Aiden, not letting him out. Eiera, Rin, and Luna sat around the stone boulder, waiting for Kai to come out.
*******
A few moments earlier, Kai entered the Eldritch Menagerie. The inside was completely dark. Kai could barely even see himself. The floor was made of wood, with scratch marks all over it. In front of Kai was a never-ending hallway. Without any hesitation, Kai walked forward.
After hours of walking, Kai reached the end of the hallway. There was some light at the end of the hallway, but still not enough for a normal human to see. In front of him were five isles of bookshelves. Each shelf was taller than hundreds of feet and stretched as far as the human eyes could see.
Kai walked towards the middle aisle. As Kai was walking through the aisle, he looked to his right. He saw the entire aisle filled with books that contained defense magic spells. Kai then looked to his left. The left aisle was filled with books that contained offensive magic spells.
As Kai is walking through the aisle, his injured hand drips a little blood on the scratched wooden floor. Kai, unbothered by his injured hand, kept on moving forward. Suddenly, he heard a loud bang.
Kai immediately turned around. He saw a ten-foot-tall hound crash into the bookshelves. The hound had no fur on his body or eyes, but he had a long nose and fifteen inches long nails.
Kai closely observing the hound. The hound stood back on his four legs. He started sniffing and following a certain scent that was pleasing to his nose.
The hound started to walk towards Kai while sniffing the floor. As the hound was about to reach Kai, it stopped walking. The hound took loud, aggressive sniffs off the floor. Kai looked at the part of the floor that the hound was sniffing.
Kai saw the hound wasn't sniffing the floor. It was sniffing Kai's blood, which was dropped on the floor earlier. Kai was still unbothered by the hound's action and showed no sign of fear towards it.
The hound then licks Kai's blood off the floor. The hound kept on licking the floor, and after a while, the hound stopped licking the floor. The hound started barking while looking at the roof he was calling for his friends.
In moments, Kai was surrounded by hundreds of hounds, but Kai was still unbothered by their presence. He said to the hounds, "Do you mind changing back? It's hard to talk to you guys in this form."
After hearing Kai's words, all the hounds stood up on their back legs and transformed into their other form. In this form, the hounds are ten feet tall in a human-like body. They also had some hair that was covering their hideous face. Their skin was so dry that it might crack the moment someone touched them. They are Spellhounds.
One of the Spellhounds said, "Who..Are..You?"
The Spellhound, who licked Kai's blood, said, "He..Is..Kai..From Astra.."
"Did you forget me already!" Kai said.
"Don't answer it. I forgot you guys are too slow. I don't have time to talk to you this time." Kai said.
As Kai said, he turned around and started walking again, but this time, hundreds of Spellhounds were following him. When Kai took his next step, the Spellhounds took their steps. They were mimicking Kai's every movement but keeping their distance from him.
After a while of walking and following, Kai had reached the end of the first aisle. At the end of the aisle, there was a small, well-lit area with a long table and chairs.
Kai entered that area. He saw at the end of this area were five more aisles waiting for Kai to enter. Kai didn't approach the other aisles. Instead, he sat on the chair looking at the Spellhounds.
The Spellhounds were afraid to enter the light, all of them standing in the darkness of the aisles. The Spellhounds were using their noses to locate Kai.
Kai leaned back in his chair and said with an evil smile. "Simon, are you here?"
As Kai said, a mysterious figure teleported next to Kai. The mysterious figure said, "At your service, master.."
The Mysterious figure was not a normal being. He was a creature. He was the same height as Kai. He had worn a hood that covered his entire body. Only his hands were visible. He had long, sharp nails and the skin of an old man.
Simon said, "MYY MAASTERR! What Can I Do For You?"
Kai said, "Did you find the books!"
Simon flicks his fingers. As he flicks his finger, three books materialize on the table. Kai gazes at the books. The book on the left had engraved some letters on it, which means protection against Dark magic. The book in the middle said How to Kill an Immortal. The book on the right said artifacts of Astra.
Simmon said, "These were the only books. I could find, Master."
*************
Outside, The Scorchers had formed a triangle as they were sitting on the sand. In the middle of the triangle was Aiden, who was still trapped by the Scorchers. While the Eternal Blade still hovers over them.
Eiera and Rin were also sitting on the sand, using the boulder as support for their backs. Their eyes looked at the entrance of the Eldritch Menagerie, waiting for Kai to come back.
While Luna was sitting at the top of the boulder, Eiera asked Luna, "How long has it been?"
Luna responds, "It's only been five minutes." Luna continued, "Don't worry, Kai will come out of there soon." Luna reassures Eiera.
**********
Meanwhile, Inside the Eldritch Menagerie, Kai had read all three of the books. "Simon, this books does not make any sense." Kai continued, "This book doesn't have any protection spell those rogues used against me. This book tells me how to kill an immortal, but not the ones I faced in the village. And this book doesn't have anything about Eclipse Arcana."
"Why are you looking for Eclipse Arcana?" A mysterious voice appeared out of nowhere.