“I remember that day like it was yesterday,” Ulmak said in a serious tone, “The day when the two of us met. He approached me when I was going after a bounty. A strange man whose composure appeared like that of a madman. Everything a about him was strange. He appeared relaxed and carefree yet his gaze was…” Ulmak paused before continuing, “…Not human. From our very first interaction, I could sense it. No, even before that. From the very moment he first laid his eye upon me, he was watching my vitals, keeping track of my heart rate, memorizing my speech and movement patterns, analyzing the way I thought. Had I not felt it with my gut, he would have surely killed me.

Within the blink of an eye, his harmless, carefree nature subsided, and became something I could not explain. With no warning or telegraph, he attacked me using a standard issue Knight weapon, a Universal grade blade, to strike me. I barely had any time to draw my spear.

Years ago, I took a vow. I would only use magic against those who were stronger than me. But as soon as he launched his first attack, I used my magic and coated myself in an armor made of stone. Yet it didn’t help me stand up to his ferocious onslaught.

His movements appeared soppy, yet I could see no flaws in them. Almost like he moved like that, only because he knew that no matter what I did, I had no chance of overpowering him.

When we dueled, I could sense countless phantom images of him appearing all around me, promiscuous shadows attacking me from all directions. My senses were telling me that I was fighting an army, yet there was but one opponent standing before me. And if I failed to block just one attack, coming from either of the afterimages, it would surely land, causing me a great deal of damage.

Even after all this time, I can still feel that sensation. The fear of facing a veritable demon,” Ulmak said, shivering and clasping his hands in front of him.

“So how did you escape?” Elaine wondered with a worried expression, her eyes wide, paying close attention to Ulmak’s words.

“I ran, like my life depended on it. For some reason, that man didn’t chase me. He just watched on as I escaped with my tail between my legs.” Ulmak lowered his gaze.

“Enough of that,” Zeke stated, standing up and getting in between the two. “We need to discuss our strategy for the next three days,” he continued with a great deal of confidence.

“What do you mean?!” Elaine asked.

“I did some scouting last night, and I determined that we’re three days away from reaching the Undercity,” Zeke explained.

“Look, I’m glad that you’ve been getting more confident after sparring with me for a bit, but don’t you think it’s too dangerous for you to go out on your own?” Elaine said with an angry expression, disrupting the topic of the conversation.

“Elaine, our journey is almost over. Let the guy do what he does best,” Ulmak sighed.

“Fine!,” Elaine yelled. “You’re right,” she murmured as she crossed her arms.

“I’m glad to hear that we’re so close to our destination, but I’m guessing there’s something more to it.” Ulmak raised his head up towards Zeke.

“There are two obstacles keeping us away from the Undercity,” Zeke explained, “The first is a field of geysers filled to the brim with crawlers,” Zeke paused.

“And the second?” Ulmak raised his eyebrow.

“A den of centipede Drakonians,” Zeke stated, causing the eyes of his companions to widen greatly.

“Fuck,” Ulmak covered his face.

“So, it’s impossible after all…” Elaine gritted her teeth, on the verge of crying.

“I have a plan,” Zeke sighed, grabbing Elaine by the shoulder. “We fight our way through the field of geysers, after we get past it. Judging by the number of crawlers in the area, there should be plenty of small tunnels where we can rest before approaching the den,” Zeke explained.

“And what are we gonna do when we get to the den? I doubt we take even one Drakonian down, even if all three of were to work together!” Elaine shouted.

“Centipede Drakonians are blind. They rely on their antennae to perceive motion. As long as we move really slowly, we should be able to sneak past unnoticed,” Zeke continued with a serious expression.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“Fuck it! Let’s do it,” Ulmak stood up.

“You can’t be serious!?” Elaine exclaimed, visibly frustrated.

“We have no other choice,” Ulmak muttered under his breath.

“We… Will… Die…” Elaine stood glaring Ulmak directly in the eyes.

“Choose. Come with us or we leave you behind,” Ulmak whispered in a deep commanding tone.

Zeke stood motionless, clenching his fist with ferocious intensity.

“Fine,” she said and stormed out of the tent.

The group didn’t talk much after the incident. Each member was focused on getting ready in their own way.

Zeke practiced martial arts with his spear. Ulmak spent his time sitting alone, praying silently. Elaine focused on packing her belongings. After about an hour of each doing their own, the group gathered by the campfire and ventured onwards, leaving behind their tents, pots and other things that would only weigh them down.

They walked for about 6 hours. They could hear the distorted sound of gushing water coming from the distance. The closer they got, the louder the sound grew. There were many times when Ulmak thought to himself, “It must be right here, right beyond this tunnel,” yet the geysers remained nowhere to be seen.

With time, the sound became almost deafening. Ulmak and Elaine covered their ears as they walked, leaving them to wonder how Zeke wasn’t being affected by the sound. He would often press his ear to the ground, listening patiently, checking how far they were from the field.

And then, suddenly the unbearable sound changed, appearing more coordinated and rhythmic. Like a series of incredibly loud claps. And by the time the group reached a clearing, Ulmak finally saw it, a field filled with hundreds of geysers, violently spitting out boiling water in splashes so strong that they hit the ceiling of the caverns, polishing them into smooth half-dome shapes. Pale blue light could be seen emanating from inside the geysers in a calm majestic glow, lighting up the otherwise pitch-black caves. The light bouncer off and refracted coloring the cavern in a majestic, kaleidoscopic rainbow pattern.

Ulmak and Elaine uncovered their ears.

“Fuck! Here we go”, Ulmak said as cold sweat ran down his forehead.

“Shhh,” Zeke gestured, pointing his finger towards a group of crawlers sleeping in the outer reaches of the cave, a distant den where they could not be reached by the boiling water.

“Right,” Ulmak whispered, regaining his composure.

Zeke looked around, strategically planning the route they needed to take. He noted how the crawlers appeared to be dormant, sleeping.

They seemed to have adapted to the sound of the geysers, making them not susceptible to it. And that assumption gave rise to another idea, a plausible theory: Because the crawlers were normally blind, and relied on their ears and skin to sense their prey their ears must have atrophied because they could no longer rely on sound to hunt. Their other senses improved, making them incredibly adept at feeling motion. And because the crawlers seemed large and well fed, seeing as the group had not stumbled across any creatures on their way to the field. It could only mean one thing - this specific pack of crawlers hunted the Drakonian centipedes for food.

“We need to move really slowly,” Zeke whispered before crouching down as low as he could.

Immediately, Ulmak and Elaine dropped down on the ground. The group Group started crawling, making their way through the geysers.

The ground was wet and uncomfortably warm, covered with a green mush made of small pieces of boiled plant matter. Crawling through it was akin to crawling through mountains of leftover tea leaves. Time and time again Zeke, Elaine and Ulmak would be hit by splashes of hot water. Zeke squealed quietly as not to alert the monsters in the distance. Ulmak and Eline proved more resilient, to them, the boiling water seemed more annoying rather than painful. However, it would be an entirely different case if they were to be hit by the geysers straight on.

Ulmak crawled forward, accidentally inhaling some wet dust and plants, causing his nose to become irritated. His face contorted and his body twitched. Zeke noticed this and approached Ulmak, but before he could do anything about it, Ulmak released a sneeze so loud it echoed through the cavern, resonating and getting louder by bouncing off its domed walls.

Ulmak gripped his weapon in preparation as Zeke turned his head towards the crawlers. However, Zeke’s theory about the crawler’s hearing turned out to be true, it appeared like they were not agitated by the sound.

“It’s okay,” Zeke whispered, with a slight smile, leaving Ulmak rather confused.

The team progressed slowly but surely. The crawlers laying on the outskirts of the cavern didn’t seem to notice them sneaking straight through its middle.

As she crawled, Elaine extended her hand to push herself forward, when suddenly, felt something strange in her hand. She lifted her eyes, gasping for air upon noticing the corpse of a man she recalled seeing three weeks ago at the gathering. It was boiled, chewed, and torn apart. The eyes were missing, seemingly eaten straight out of the sockets.

In a rush, Elaine moved her hand away from the corpse, jittering away from it.

“Fuck!” Zeke shouted as several crawlers leaped out of their den.

The group froze, trying to conceal their presence.

One of the emerging crawlers clung to the ceiling of the cave, frantically twisting its head in various directions.

Elane breathed heavily, still shaken by the corpse, as several Crawlers walked right past her. Her heartbeat intensified, beating uncontrollably, loudly and rhythmically. Suddenly, the Crawler that had attached himself to the ceiling let go of his grip, crashing down to the ground, launching itself towards Elaine with its horn aimed straight at her.

Zeke pushed Elaine out of the way, causing the two of them to tumble towards the right, alerting hundreds of other crawlers, who screeched as they sensed nearby prey.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/Fz6q55hF/Name-Alias-X-Species-Demon-Age-80-Height-182cm-Affiliation-Knights-Rank-Special-grade-investigator.png]