The silence of the kids was interrupted only by the squeaking of the elevator. There was no shaft, so the cage wobbled from side to side. According to the miners upstairs, "If they wiggle too much, it'll whack itself against the rocks." For that reason, the four stood there without moving a muscle. Not like they could in the first place. The elevator wasn't spacious at all and was predominantly used to carry rock-filled crates. Therefore, filling it with four people meant that they had to stand smushed against one another. The hook at the top of the cage croaked with even the tiniest sway. Everyone regretted not taking the long way around, but it was far too late for regret. All they could do was simply see it through.
They shot out of the cage like a champagne out of a freshly shaken bottle. Their heartbeats might even be heard out loud, were it not for the banging of pickaxes against stone, which was now louder than ever.
The walkway was much wider here. Back at the top, the four of them could barely stand side by side without one getting too close to the edge. Here, one could build an entire mansion and there would still be enough space for a safe pavement.
Whatever light reached the upper parts of the mine was not present here. Rudy's aura was illuminating everything in a crimson glow, but it also prevented the kids from seeing farther than a few steps away. Kaili flinched with the first few steps. The rocks here were rougher, which made walking that much more unpleasant and the risk of tripping rose exponentially.
The only guiding point for the four was a lit-up building ahead of them and a sign next to the elevator that said "37".
Jin looked down at his hand and moved it around a little to confirm what he was seeing. The red aura that protected him used to be firm and smooth, like beautiful glasswork, but now it was wobbling and warping like a storm-shaken sea.
"Rudy? You good, buddy?" he said and gently tapped the hilt of the sword.
"Y-Yeah. I'm focusing. It's like constantly flexing your muscles. It gets harder the longer you do it."
"Can you keep us safe or should we retreat?"
"I can do it. But I've changed the aura a little bit. It's not an armour anymore, but rather a hazard suit. Will keep the pressure out for sure, but take a hit from anything and it'll crumble like paper."
Cia nervously grabbed her injured arm as she heard it. The place certainly wasn't safe and the idea of accumulating any more wounds was not keeping her much calmer.
A couple of minutes later, the bright light in the distance finally became a massive building as they approached. It seemed that the deeper they went, the more industrious the mines were becoming. Unlike the outpost they saw before, this one had outdoor furnaces, countless metal pipes running around the exterior, and a constant metal banging that accompanied it.
The reaction of the locals was only slightly different from the miners upstairs. The men here did not expect any sort of intruders, as there were so many other outposts between them and the surface. They simply counted on their co-workers to take care of any danger long before it could travel this deep.
"Delivery! Package for... Ultard Kalien!" Jin called out.
"Ultard!" one of the men shouted and rolled his eyes. They passed the name on from one to the other. The countless repetitions of it could be heard quieter and quieter as they moved it to the inside.
A couple of minutes later, the recipient finally came forth. He was a short man but with so many muscles he almost looked wider than he was tall. His smile, however, was the first one the kids had seen so far in the mines.
"Ah, yes, fantastic, thank you very much!" he exclaimed and began opening the package. The quartet leaned over to see what could be such an important object he would want it ordered all the way here to what seemed to be the bottom of the world.
"Look at this beauty!" he gasped as he pulled out a gorgeous pickaxe full of gears and displays.
Cia squeaked at the sight of the device. "Is that some sort of a mining multitool?"
"Yeah, you bet, whack! Can mine with it, then it has a chisel function," he pushed a button on the handle and the pickaxe folded, revealing a single sharp tip, "which is motorized too with six settings," he added and turned the motor on, causing the "chisel" to jump up and down in a blur.
"Can I hold it for a moment? Please!" the young imp begged the miner.
"Whack, you think I'll let a kid have it? Go to a hole!" The previously kind and nice attitude quickly turned into one that seemed to be mandatory for all local workers.
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"G-Guys, may we please move on? This is really not comfortable," Rudy groaned under the strain of the pressure.
"Right! Thank you for ordering at Arcane Deliveries. We look forward to working for you again," Jin sang the usual slogan with a slight bow and the gang quickly headed back up towards the single tiny lamp in the distance that indicated the presence of the elevator.
"I really wish I could work with a gear like that," Cia muttered, still bitter about the man's attitude.
"You can save up for your own," Kaili tried to encourage her.
"Yeah. Finish like ten deliveries and you've got enough money," Airo chimed in.
"If they'll all be like this from now on, I'm not sure I want to be a courier anymore."
"I don't think it's gonna get worse. This was just Manuel's attempt at making us learn magic," said Kaili. "Or scare us away from it maybe. With what happened here, I–"
Her voice suddenly cut out. The friend trailing at the very back of the group went silent as if someone simply removed her voice. The remaining three turned around, their hearts jumping up in horror as they saw the young dryad standing there, staring wide-eyed into nowhere. Her red aura was gone.
"Rudy!" Jin called out to him and grabbed the sword, shaking it in an attempt to cause the demon's eye to open.
"Be quiet," something said behind them. They all turned to witness the origin of the rasping voice.
It was a demon in all his glory. His body red like blood with a texture so uneven and rough that his skin didn't look much different from the rocks that surrounded them. Two horns were protruding from his head, splitting in half and curling forward at the very top. Black spikes grew out of his shoulders and along his forearms as he once again took the form he lost all those years ago.
"Now this is much better," he said and looked at the four stunned children standing nearby. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."
The auras around them faded into nothing. Neither of them had any memory of what happened in the next few seconds or how exactly they found themselves on the ground. It was like countless fists punching them at once into every place imaginable. No muscle would move. Every attempt at even tensing up their bodies was met with unimaginable resistance. It was like struggling against a mountain. Their hearts beat faster as the dense aura filled their lungs. Everyone's breaths grew shallow. The amount of oxygen was still enough to keep them alive, but their troubled breathing made the four considerably dizzy. No sound could leave their throats. Not a call for help, not a scream, nor a single groan. Their vision blurred, yet they could still see the demon as it approached. His hooves came into focus first before he crouched down beside them.
"Now, I know you won't believe me, but I am really sorry for this," he spoke with a soft voice and pat Jin on the back. "I can guarantee you that you'll be alright. If a little worse for wear for a moment. Someone will find you, don't worry. I'll make sure to let someone know where you are." His eyes slid over towards Kaili. Although she couldn't express her anger and hatred, the bloodshot look in her eyes said it all.
"You were right to be suspicious. Have to give it to ya, you're probably the most protective of you all," Rudy said as he approached the young dryad. "I really am sorry about this. I needed several people linked to my magic to finally overpower Manuel's seal, and this was simply such a perfect opportunity. Too perfect for me to simply pass it up just like that. None of you have any idea what it's like to be locked away for so long. I've spent decades trying to figure out a way to take revenge on Manuel and I think I finally have what it takes—a perfect counter to his abilities. So, my thanks to you for helping me out. But, before I go, there's one more thing to take care of."
He approached Jin once again and grabbed him by the hand. A blade of red magic shot out of the demon's forearm and flew right through the boy's wrist. To his surprise, there was no pain or wound. Only cold, numbing shivers.
"There, that takes care of the link between us. We're no longer bound. Manuel's magic is really easy to undo once you understand it." He smiled, showing rows of sickly yellow teeth. The knowledge that he had spells that could rival the strongest wizard himself was flooding his mind with an overdose of joy.
"See you later, kiddos," he waved them a final goodbye before heading on towards the cage.
Despite his abilities, the ride back up filled him with the same exact feeling as before. Should the entire elevator break down and fall, he doubted that he could survive unscathed.
The miners upstairs at Outpost 2 did not suspect what was coming their way. How could they, after all? They remembered four teenagers going down, so they expected the same group to come back up, perhaps short a person or two, should an accident happen in the worst-case scenario.
When the massive red demon, barely able to fit into the elevator, finally appeared on the top floor, the man operating the lift could not even bring himself to react. Throughout all the years of his service, he had seen countless creatures attack them from the depths of the earth, but none looked even remotely as powerful as Rudy.
The demon moved quickly. Three projectiles flew through the man's body, sending him paralyzed to the ground.
"Intruder!" Someone shouted the moment they saw the monster emerge from the elevator station. The workers were quick on their feet. They gathered around, blocking the demon's way. Their tools. now also clad in colourful auras, rested in their hands.
"I'm not going to kill you, because frankly, I have nothing against you, but I have to ask you to step aside," Rudy spoke but obtained no reaction from the crowd. "I only wish to make it to the surface. Down there at outpost 37 are the kids you've met before. If you stand against me, I will take you all down and therefore, there won't be anyone left to help them. So, will you let me pass, or not?"
The workers exchanged expressions as if they communicated telepathically like a single hivemind.
"Let him go, lads. We ain't here to fight battles. Elsie will take care of the whacker."
The crowd parted, yet stayed on their guard. Rudy walked past them, grinning from eye to eye. Yes, Elsie. The summoner who guards the mines. She would be the perfect test of his new abilities. After all, how can he hope to defeat Manuel, if he wouldn't be able to take care of someone like her?