Night had come...
Darkness had descended upon the world.
The city was shrouded by a veil, the crimson moon in the sky giving barely any radiance. However, it didn't matter much, because the city was lit up with artificial lights.
Foot traffic seemed to breathe life into the wide streets and roads of the city, like blood moving through the veins of a collosal creature made from steel and concrete.
Cain looked up at the dark sky shrouded with clouds.
'What a terrible sight...'
A string of words entered into his mind, rather clear despite the cacophony of sounds.
"Lately, there has been a series of random possessions in the city. We believe the culprits are the Blameless Night Cult, servants of a Horror-Class Abyssal Creature."
"We have tracked down what we believe to be their base of operations. Your mission is simply; eliminate those who invite disaster into our world. Should you encounter any Devil possessed, you are to act at your own discretion. Your performance will be evaluated individually and as a collective."
The words came from Leon. Although Richard had no idea where the instructor was, he was certain the Instructor was watching over them from somewhere.
He, alongside the other members of his 'squad' stood outside a rather dark building. There were no lights coming from the inside of the building.
Despite being located in a busy part of the city, none of the passer-bys seemed to pay it any mind.
It was almost as though their minds failed to register its existence.
Richard's narrowed.
According to the information Leon provided, the building belonged to a rather rich business man who was suspected to be in cahoots with the occultic sect.
He recalled the rather peculiar interaction he had experienced a few days ago.
'Could they be related?'
Celine frowned as she looked down,
"I can sense movement and something... dark. There is definitely something going on down there."
"What do you suggest? Do we storm the place or take a more covert approach." Gregory asked.
Celine spared him a glance. She seemed to hesitate for a moment.
"Isn't it obvious? Of course we storm in from the front. The louder the better." Richard said with a chuckle.
Celine glared at him,
"That is a terrible idea. Isn't that just alerting the enemy?"
Richard shook his head,
"What do you think we are dealing with here? Regular humans? A mere wandering evil spirit?"
His eyes narrowed, "We are dealing with something far greater than that. They already know we are coming."
Umbra, the Blood Sorceress smirked and raised a brow at Richard,
"How are you so certain?" She asked.
Vagabond, replied instead,
"The gaze..."
Celine's eyes widened,
"We are being watched."
Richard nodded.
"We are being invited in. There is no need to sneak in."
Celine pursed her lips, a bit unconvinced.
Umbra chuckled and patted her shoulder,
"Don't worry about it."
Her eyes narrowed as she said playfully, "This is your first field experience, right?"
Celine's face flushed pink,
"N-no!"
Umbra laughed, her electric voice stretching into the night despite the sounds from the surrounding nightlife.
The tattooed sorcerer began walking forward, not paying any mind to the rest of them.
Umbra pushed Celine forward,
"Come on, there's nothing to worry about "
Seeing this, Richard and Gregory followed suit.
They walked towards the glass doors and pushed them open.
Instantly, Richard could sense the change.
It was as though they had crossed some visible boundary.
The interior of the building was so dark, it was impossible for one to see their own feet.
Vagabond, who was at the forefront of the group pulled a pendant from nowhere and uttered a few words.
Slowly, the pendant lit up, providing much needed illumination.
Walking forward, Richard quietly observed the place.
There were two elevators to either side of the receptionist desk. Of course, there was no one there.
"There is no one here." Celine said with a frown.
Gregory asked, "Should we split up and look around?"
Richard shook his head. He felt all his senses tingling, telling him to get out of there as fast as possible.
Of course, he chose to ignore his survival instincts, instead, pointing at one of the elevators, the one that was shrouded in corrupted mana.
"Let's go through that one."
Vagabond turned to him with a frown,
"Can you not sense the overwhelming evil coming from there?"
Cain shrugged as he pushed past the burly man,
"Of course I can. Which is precisely why we should head there, is it not? Our mission is to get to the bottom of whatever is causing the possessions, is it not?"
The burly man was silent for a moment.
Ignoring him, Richard continued forward. He arrived in front of the elevator and pressed the button.
As the elevator doors opened, he turned around,
"Are you guys coming or what?"
Umbra chuckled, "What an odd person."
Celine snorted, "More like foolish."
Umbra smiled, "Still, he makes a point."
They all walked to the elevator and stepped into it alongside Richard.
Upon entering the elevator, Richard realized that the panel that should have held the buttons for all the floors only had two.
One had an arrow pointing up, the other hand an arrow pointing down.
With a smile, he pressed down on the down button.
If they were looking for evil, it only made sense for it to come from below...
Unlike the receptionist area, the elevator was lit.
As the elevator carried them down, all five of them were silent.
Using this time, Richard careful went over the information he had on his squad members.
'One enchanter, a witch, a mage, and an all-rounder. One First Rank, the rest Second Ranks. A rather solid team...'
There was also the talented Celine Rigborne. Richard didn't doubt her capabilities were beyond the average Second Rank Sorcerer thanks to her special upbringing despite having no field experience.
If they were to encounter an Apostate, the mission would be considered an easy task..
However, there was a high chance they would come in contact with a Horror.
Horrors were no joke.
Adjusting the bag he slung across the back, he couldn't help but glance at the rest of his squad.
Celine had a sword and a gun strapped to her waist. Both were obviously enchanted weapons, but besides that, they didn't seem special.
Then there was Umbra who had no weapons save for a ring with a skull on it on her left hand. He could tell it was special, but couldn't tell for what purpose.
Gregory wore a set of special enchanted gloves that were customary for phenome-type sorcerers.
Vagabond on the other hand held no weapons. His eyes were closed. From the looks of it, he was preparing himself for whatever they were about to face.
'Not a bad choice.'
He glanced at Celine. From the looks of it, she also didn't seem too bothered.
Only Gregory looked a bit out of it.
He lightly tapped his shoulder and whispered,
"Relax."
Gregory gave him a wry smile,
"I'll try."
Richard paused for a moment then grinned,
"I'll give you a piece of advice; don't trust your eyes. Regardless of how terrifying it looks, remember that Demons and Devils alike bleed just like us."
His expression turned ruthless,
"And whatever you do, do not feed it with your despair. If you feel yourself falling, stab your blade into your heart. It is a more pleasant fate."
Gregory's face turned pale, but Richard had already said what he wanted to say. It was up to him to accept his advice.
The elevator gradually came to a halt.
Celine spoke, "Get ready..."
The doors slowly opened.
Beyond them, was pitch-black darkness that seemed solid enough to be cut with a knife.
They stepped out of the elevator and into the darkness.
The moment they got out, the elevator doors shut, as though trapping them.
There was also a humming sound coming from the darkness.
Vagabond pulled his charm out and uttered a few words like before. The light pulsed out of the pendant, driving the darkness away.
With a bit of illumination provided, Richard was able to take in their surroundings.
Very quickly, he, as well as the others, could tell they were no longer inside the same building. There were no concrete walls around them, and even the elevator they had come out of had disappeared.
The walls around them were uneven and rocky. There was a slightly damp smell accompanied by the strong scent of blood.
The torches along the walls lit up, further driving the darkness away...
Revealing a rather gruesome picture.
Gregory's face turned even more pale and he trembled, taking a few steps back.
Celine expression twisted and she pulled her curved blade out.
Even the stoic Vagabond wore a frown.
The scene revealed was not pretty at all.
There were two rows of kneeling headless corpses, their hands clasped together as they prayed towards the altar at the end of the cave.
Their heads lay before them, mumbling incomprehensible words.
Upon listening closer, Richard recognized a few words in the abyssal tongue,
"Praise Ra'akt, Lord of Pain and Lamentations, the everlasting and wicked..."
Etched on the muttering heads on the ground were a set of arcane runes he had never seen before.
From the bleeding necks flowed thick viscous blood that flowed into the silver goblets in the hands of masked individuals standing behind the headless corpses.
These masked individuals wore black robes, and on their faceless masks were the same set of runes etched into the forehead.
It was obviously a blood ritual, an attempt to summon the Devil into the mortal world.
Umbra chuckled at the sight,
"Looks like we have a summoning in our hands..."