“Ouuuu…” Remy cried in pain. His body hurting all over. It was as if a thousand thorns had pierced through his skin. That metaphor didn’t seem unreasonable, considering how many sharp rocks he hit on his way down. His palm was wet. He didn’t want to look at it. He knew exactly what liquid occupied the surface of his palms.

“Remy!” Atilia and Mimiyat came running over to him. The two of them looked fine, much to his relief.

“You’re… alright…”

“Stay silent, Remy!” Atilia said, kneeling down next to him.

“Sigh… here.” Mimiyat gave her a white pill. Atilia took it and shoved it into Remy’s mouth. The pill tasted like oranges for some reason. His body glowed green, the pain dissipating. Even the sensation on his palm faded away.

“Are you alright?” Atilia asked. Remy sat up.

“I’m fine.” He patted his back. He was no longer hurt, albeit his clothes were tattered and broken.

“We’ll need to get you new clothes,” Atilia said as she examined him. Remy took a look at his palm. There was no longer any wound or blood on it.

Impressive…

“Before that, we need to get out of here,” Mimiyat said. They were in some cave. Mimiyat held her hand up, using magic to light up their surroundings. Above them was the hole they fell through. Climbing up seemed impossible, thanks to the tiny size of that hole, along with how rough the surface was. Mimiyat then brought out a magic paper and wrote something on it with magic.

“What are you doing?” Remy asked out of curiosity.

“Notifying the guild.”

“You still have a relationship with the guild?” Atilia peeked over Mimiyat’s shoulder.

“Unfortunately, I’m not evil enough to want someone else to fall here,” she answered. After the guild confirmed the message, she returned the paper to her damaged pouch. Mimiyat wore the same cloak she wore yesterday. The cloak had visible damage on it. Even Atilia’s angelic white dress didn't escape unscathed.

“So… what do we do?” Remy asked.

“Guess we’re stuck, huh?” Mimiyat began wandering off, walking away from the hole and following the tiny cave.

“Not yet. There may be a path in there," Atilia said.

“No, I mean I’m stuck with you two.”

Atilia clenched her fist and was about to say something when she took deep breaths. “Yeah, we’re sorry for following you. So, Lady Mimiyat, can you kindly let us come with you for the time being? Please?”

“... Do what… yawn… want.”

Remy and Atilia followed after her. Remy did a quick check to make sure that his sniper was fine. All five purple bars lit up, and there seemed to be no issue with the weapon.

He caught up and walked next to Atilia. As they proceeded, the structure of the cave remained the same. The narrow passageway could barely fit two people walking in side-by-side. The darkness made it hard for Remy to tell the exact dimensions of the cave, but it was so small it felt suffocating.

They hadn’t run into monsters at all so far. One thing he knew, though. If a monster did appear, they would be in deep trouble. He could only pray that they wouldn’t meet any, at least not now.

The cave became wider, now it could fit three people walking side-by-side. Remy remained in the rear, though.

“There’s a hole.” Atilia pointed forward. Reny took a peek from behind her shoulders. The three approached the hole, walking through it and coming out on some kind of balcony. The light on Mimiyat’s hand faded, but the surroundings remained bright.

“What is that?” Remy murmured. The balcony overlooked a ravine. Beyond the ravine was an underground structure carved right into the rock walls. The structure looked like an underground city. Buildings emerged from the rocks dotting the landscape. Each had its own little light sources, making it look like a beautiful town at night. Street lamps and light from the buildings all form a connected web of light that shooed away the darkness. The light looked somewhat similar to the magic Mimiyat and Atilia used, albeit of a different color. They were glowing a paler, slightly yellowish white. Different from Mimiyat and Atilia’s bright white.

Little pathways connected one building to the other. Some looked like bridges with rock guardrails extending out. Others looked like tunnels with windows carved into the sides. There were several figures in them. Remy kneeled down on the floor and placed her sniper in between Atilia’s legs. He took a look through the scope, scouting the area.

“What are you doing?” Mimiyat asked with an icy tone.

“I’m trying to see the people there… Rock people?” All of the figures in front of him were similar in shape. They had the figure of a normal human, but their skin consisted of rock with a reddish-brown color.

“Demons,” Atilia whispered. “On a side note, I’m glad I wore shorts underneath my dress.”

“But I’ve seen it before?”

“Seeing it in bed is different to seeing it when you're outside, Remy.”

“Can you two please keep your bed talk in your room?”

“Sorry.” Remy stood back up, bringing his sniper with him. Atilia gave him a sly grin while Mimiyat looked at him with cold eyes.

“Still, I wasn’t expecting to see an underground city,” Remy muttered. Mimiyat shook her head.

“This is not an underground city.”

“It’s… not? An underground base?”

“Look up.”

Remy stepped beside Atilia, then looked up, finding a ceiling made out of stone and rocks high above the cave. The ceiling stood around two hundred meters from where they were.

“Now look down.”

Remy did as told, looking to the ravine beyond the opening. The ravine separated them and the city, and at the base of it was a slow-moving river. To the right of where they stood was a docked ship. Wooden planks connected it to both sides of the stream. All of that didn’t answer his question, though.

“... So?”

Mimiyat sighed, not bothering to answer him. “Let’s head the other way.”

She turned around, squeezed past Remy, and walked away. Remy caught up with her, with Atilia now guarding the rear. Mimiyat used her magic to light up the dark cave. They walked all the way back, passing the hole they fell through, and continued walking. Eventually, they arrived at a dead end.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“Oh, great,” Mimiyat grunted.

“What is it?” Atilia asked from behind. Mimiyat moved to the side, and with a flat tone, said,

“Tadaa… a flat wall.”

“Ok… and?”

“Are you outworlders this dumb?”

“It’s a wall, Mimiyat.”

“Yeah, that’s the point. It’s a wall, which means the only way out is through the demons.”

“Why don’t you just say so?”

“I thought you could understand what I meant.”

The two girls glared at each other, Remy shrinking in the middle, a complete loss of words.

“Sigh… Why am I stuck with you two.”

“Oh, you think we want to be stuck with you? I would rather be with anyone else, like Cathirina, for example.”

“Call her, then. Tell her to come here.”

“I can’t- … Actually, I think I can.” Atilia was about to pull out the magic paper when Mimiyat stopped her.

“That was a joke.”

“Are you sure it’s a joke?”

“No, more like a rhetorical question.”

“So you want to help us get out of here?”

“Momentary truce.”

“Alright, deal.” The two shook hands, much to Remy’s relief. He was glad the little fight didn’t last long, although it reminded him of the situation they were in.

“So… what should we do now?” Remy asked.

Atilia let go of Mimiyat’s hand and pointed her thumb back toward the city. “Maybe tell us about that place?”

Mimiyat rested her back to the cave's walls. “To put it simply, what you saw wasn’t an underground city. It was Kilotakia, an ancient city built into a ravine.”

“You’re saying that the ravine extended all the way up to where we were?”

“Yes. It’s been hundreds of years since anyone last heard of it. I don’t know the details, but for one reason or another, it had been abandoned and was written off the map. And now, it’s occupied by demons, far behind the front lines.”

“I do not like the idea of demons operating so far in here,” Atilia murmured. The war was currently at a standstill. The demons occupied the entire northern part of the Makinea continent. Only one thing prevented the demons from overflowing into the rest of Makinea. The Marzendi Mountains's freezing temperature stood in the demons' way. The mountain line extended from the east coast all the way to the west. The rocks underneath the mountains were tough, making drilling through extremely difficult.

The only way to get through the area was either through the sea or climbing over it. The demons couldn't handle the cold, and their bodies were too heavy to swim over. There shouldn't be demons there.

“Looks like the soldiers guarding the seas aren’t doing their job,” Mimiyat commented.

“Talking about them won't help us.” Atilia retorted. “I’m reporting this to the guild. What is the city’s name again?”

“Kilotakia.”

“Alright.”

Using magic, Atilia wrote the warning on the paper, and sent them to the guild. It didn’t take long for them to reply, asking her about the situation. She reported that all of them were alright and unhurt. The guild asked them not to engage the demons.

“... How?” Mimiyat asked in dissatisfaction after Atilia showed her the paper. “We’re dealing with them ourselves,” she said.

Mimiyat then squeezed through Remy and Atilia, once again taking the lead.

“How are you planning to do that!?” Atilia asked, exasperated.

“Do I need to explain even that?”

“You’re not planning on outright attacking them, are you?”

“We’re not waiting for the guild to come and help. They’re way too slow. We’ll be dead by the time they arrive.”

“Hey!”

Mimiyat ignored all other complaints. She headed back to the balcony that looked over the city. She then stopped right before the hole and turned around.

“You stay here. I’ll clear them out on my own.”

“Like hell I’ll let you do that.”

“Suit yourself, just don’t slow me down.”

“Remy, you stay there and snipe from afar.”

“But I can’t recharge on my own?”

“Oh… yeah.”

“See? I told you to stay put.” Without any more words, Mimiyat jumped down the balcony. Remy crawled to the end of the balcony, curious about Mimiyat’s landing. Mimiyat made a perfect landing. She utilized her magic to lower her descent and land set her down next to the riverside. She then began running toward the ship, when she pulled to a halt, staring upward at the ship. Remy thought she was just examining it, but the clock continued ticking, and Mimiyat didn’t seem to be moving.

“What is she doing?” Atilia whispered, getting herself closer to the edge. She leaned a bit downward, her hands on the sides of her mouth.

“Psst. Mimiyat!” Atilia called out in whispers, yet Mimiyat just stood there, looking up at the ship’s rear. Atilia leaned to the left, farther out, trying to make out the ship’s name.

“... Urkon Maria? Maria the Knight?”

“You can read it?” Remy whispered from behind her. He was still watching Mimiyat, feeling tense after seeing her frozen.

Did she fall asleep?

It sounded like a dumb idea, for sure, but considering Mimiyat, it was a possibility. Atilia looked back at him and retreated from the cliffside.

“Yes, but it’s not in Pataranian.”

“Pataranian? That's the name of the language we’re speaking now?”

“Yeah. The words are in Juskon. I stumbled on a Juskon-Pataranian dictionary in the library by accident.”

“... You read some heavy stuff.”

“They’re the ones most affected by this,” Atilia shrugged, her hands holding onto the ground. The balcony didn’t have any railing around it. Falling over was easy, and the ground was quite far. She looked over the edge, whispering back to Mimiyat, now a bit louder. Mimiyat shook her head and then looked back at them. She said nothing, proceeding to run over to the docks. She climbed onboard the ship, hiding behind it, and peered into the city beyond them.

Remy took his sniper and rested it on the ground, aiming toward a pair of demons in the distance.

"Give me a signal."

"Alright." Atilia extended her right hand horizontally in front of Remy’s sniper, clenching her fist. Her hand floated right above Remy's scope, only a small part of her skin visible in his sight. She waited as Mimiyat crossed over into the city.

Curious, Remy crawled back to the edge and observed Mimiyat. Mimiyat brought out a dagger, sneaking up to an unsuspecting demon. With one clean cut, she put the demon down to the ground.

“Woah… That’s clean,” Atilia commented.

"Yeah…" Remy returned to his sniper. He returned his sights to a pair of demons talking to each other. They stood next to the balcony of one of the buildings. He rested his finger on the trigger, careful to not shoot by accident.

“How tough are those demons?”

“They’re like rock-humans, so really tough. Mimiyat’s dagger is probably enchanted, though.”

“I wonder why she didn't use her spear."

“This is a stealth mission.”

"Makes sense."

Atilia continued observing Mimiyat, relaying what she did to Remy. Mimiyat continued her killing spree. She walked up to a demon and took it down. She then made her way to another one, taking it out as well. Three more demons fall. Mimiyat dumped the dead bodies into the water, hid them behind lamps or trash cans, or threw them away somewhere.

She then stopped in front of a door. She peeked through the small window next to it, before using her dagger to force the door open. From it, came out a pair of Arstulz cows, which ran away, heading downstream.

Their escape didn’t warn the demons, somehow, thus Mimiyat continued forward. Atilia tracked her movements, all while keeping her hand horizontal in front of Remy. Remy himself tried relaxing himself, waiting for the moment. He kept calm, breathing in and out, his crosshair slightly above the head of the demon. The demons continued their conversation, oblivious to the weapon staring them down.

“... Arstulz cow… You think they’re making those mutants here?” Remy murmured.

“Maybe?”

“It’s worrying how close they are to Purwa.”

“You’re right.”

There was an intense two-minute wait. Mimiyat disappeared behind the rocky buildings, probably knocking out more and more enemies. The demons in Remy’s sight still weren’t moving, still oblivious.

“... She’s taking so long,” Atilia said, still holding her hand in front of Remy’s rifle.

“Would be nice if we could see the demons. Through the walls, I mean.”

“I wonder if there’s a magic spell that can do that.”

There were those kinds of abilities in the games Remy played. It usually came with a downside, however. For example, it may consume a lot of energy, causing its user to get tired quickly, or it may not be able to see enemies beyond a certain range. Remy kept his thoughts on the sidelines, however, not wanting them to bother his concentration.

After two more intense minutes, the alarm finally rang, causing Atilia to lift her hand. Remy pulled the trigger.