As Alphonso guided Eliana through the oddly large tunnel, the darkness pressed in on them from all sides after the fire orb Eliana had cast was unconsciously dispelled.
However, knowing her condition, Alphonso, who was vulnerable while in the dark, didn't question or ask Eliana to bring the light back.
They walked in the darkness, and no one made any sound, unless the steps they took.
Luckily, Alphonso had marked the core's location. What he needed to do was follow the light mark.
Eliana's grip on Alphonso's arm was tight, her knuckles white as she fought to steady her breathing.
The fear she managed to suppress was beginning to creep back in, and each distant skittering noise made her flinch.
She was too busy thinking about the spiders to care about casting the fire orb, and the thought of them suddenly appearing in front of them only doubled the fear.
Alphonso could feel her tension, the way her steps faltered as if she were on the brink of freezing up again.
"We're almost there," Alphonso whispered, trying to sound reassuring. "Just a little further, and we'll reach the core."
He was lying. The core was still far from their position, but he had no choice but to lie. Fortunately, the path ahead gradually gained vision from the glowing stones protruding from the tunnel roof.
Eliana nodded weakly, though her eyes remained wide with fear.
The memory of the monstrous spider-like creatures still haunted her, their grotesque forms and skittering legs etched into her mind. She felt vulnerable and terrified, even with someone else by her side.
Just as Alphonso was about to say something more to comfort her, the sound of rapid, skittering legs echoed through the tunnel, louder this time and growing closer.
Eliana's heart sank, and she stopped moving.
Feeling the same way, Alphonso halted, peering into the darkness ahead, his senses on high alert.
Emerging from the shadows were one, two, three... six spider-like monsters, their glowing eyes fixed on the pair.
'How?!'
The monsters moved eerily, their long legs clicking against the stone floor as they closed in. Their mandibles clacked together menacingly, filling the tunnel with the unmistakable sound of predatory intent.
Eliana froze at the sight of them, her body stiffening as her breath caught in her throat. The fear she had been trying to keep at bay surged back, and her hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
"No... not again..."
Alphonso glanced sideways and saw the terror in her eyes.
He had to act quickly, or they would be in great trouble.
"Hey. Eliana," Alphonso said firmly, his voice cutting through the rising panic.
He stepped in front of her, raising his short sword in a defensive stance.
"I need you to get back to your senses. I know you're scared, but we don't have a choice here but to fight."
Eliana's eyes darted between Alphonso and the advancing monsters.
"I... I can't... I can't do it..."
"Yes, you can."
'Or else we die!"
Not taking his eyes off the monsters, he continued, "I've seen what you can do, Eliana. When you decimated and cremated the Ittey, that was fucking cool!"
"You're strong, especially your flame. These eight-legged bastards are nothing before your flame. They will get incinerated before they realize what happened to them."
"I don't know why you're scared of spiders or similar creatures, but since they are weak against fire, you can just burn them to ashes. That's right. If the fear is still stuck in your mind, you can also just burn them!"
"...that's impossible... dummy..."
"Is it?" Alphonso chuckled. "Then, you'd better burn these bastards. I'm sure once you do it, you won't fear those things again."
Eliana stared at him. Her breathing gradually became steady, but her face was as if she was saying, "Are you really dumb?"
"You are terrible at this... but I'll try... I'll burn them from my mind."
"Heh, great. I'll hold them off, and you bring the fire. We'll take them down, one by one, and then we'll get to the core."
Alphonso was right—spiders were nothing in the face of blazing fire. And as terrifying and huge as those spider-like monsters were, she couldn't let her fear control her.
Not now.
Taking a deep breath, Eliana forced herself to focus. She could feel the warmth of her magic flickering at the edges of her consciousness, waiting to be unleashed.
Her grip on her sword wand—a weapon that could function as a sword and as a wand—tightened as she nodded.
"Okay," she whispered. "Let's do this!"
"Good," Alphonso replied, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
At that time, his back looked wide and reliable. Seeing that, Eliana couldn't help but smile and muttered, "Thank you."
As the first monster lunged at them, Alphonso moved swiftly to intercept it, his short sword flashing as he detected the creature's attack, and his body a bit staggered after the clash, showing his inexperience in fighting, especially against opponents who are bigger and stronger than him.
Fortunately, he was fast. He sidestepped the monster's venomous fangs and slashed at its legs. Although he couldn't take its legs, it was enough to stop its movement and push it back.
"Now, Eliana!" he shouted.
Eliana didn't hesitate. She raised her weapon and channeled her magic, a surge of fire erupting from her fingertips.
"Burn..." Eliana muttered.
The flames roared to life, engulfing the nearest monsters in a blaze of crimson fire. The creatures screeched as it was consumed by the flames, its body writhing before it crumbled into ash.
The remaining spider-like monsters charged at the pair.
But Alphonso and Eliana were ready.
Alphonso moved skillfully. His movements were calculated, not wasting energy. He only struck when he needed to, and each strike meant to protect the magic knight behind him and buy her time. He also blocked and parried the monsters's attack.
Meanwhile, Eliana's confidence grew with each spell she cast.
Flames erupted from her weapon, sometimes from her palms or fingers, incinerating the spider-like monsters one by one. Her fire blazed through the tunnel, casting long shadows against the stone walls and lighting up the darkness.
The monsters screeched as they were consumed by the fire, their bodies disintegrating into ash.
The once overwhelming fear that had paralyzed Eliana was now replaced by a blazing flame within her to see this through.
As she was about to cast the final flame, the last monster fled toward the direction she was coming from, where Niveus was fighting against dozens of the monsters.
Too late to release her magic, the monster disappeared into the darkness.
The tunnel fell silent once more, save for the crackling of dying embers as Eliana lowered her weapon.
Lowering his short sword, Alphonso breathed heavily as he surveyed the aftermath.
"You did it," he said. "We did it!"
Eliana let out a shaky breath, her body trembling from both the exertion and the relief that flooded through her. She looked at Alphonso, allowing herself a small, victorious smile.
"Yeah... we did it," she replied softly.
As they were about to laugh, they remembered something. The core of the Monolith was still ahead of them.
"We still need to find the core and destroy it."
"Yes..." Eliana nodded.
Then she looked back at where they came from.
"But... will Niveus be alright?"
"Ha! I bet he will appear with a bag of essence any time now. It's no use worried about him," Alphonso scoffed, but his words sounded genuine.
"Ah, speaking of essences... let's see."
Alphonso looked around, searching for the monster's essence—a valuable material that dropped from Monolith's creatures after they died.
"Out of six, only three dropped the essences, huh? Well, not bad."
The goal was to clear the Monolith as quickly as possible, but if they found some treasures in the road, then they should take them back, no?
After collecting the essences, they pressed on, their footsteps echoing through the tunnel as they headed to the core's location.