The way forward was a narrow descent. The wet stone walls allowed only the smallest passage and it was incredibly hard to make any progress.

They spent fifteen minutes trying to make it through the two meters long opening in the wall. There were small holes surrounding the passage, which they could’ve tried to climb through, but Tanuki didn’t allow Maduka to even think of that.

“If you get stuck in one of those holes, I don’t have any way of helping you escape. You’d just stay there, in the dark, until you die of thirst or something finds and eats you. The same goes for me if I get stuck.”

Maduka looked at the dark hole in the wall next to the passage. She thought about what Tanuki said and a shiver ran down her spine. What he just described sounded like one of the worst ways to die.

Caves are no joke and Tanuki knew that. He read a lot about cave enthusiasts going down in unmapped holes in search of something undiscovered, only to get stuck and seal their fate down in a moist and rough coffin.

And those people were qualified for their job. Tanuki and Maduka were, even if they wanted to think otherwise, two amateur explorers on a mission with no clear goal.

Thankfully, after a certain point, they arrived in a long hallway that didn’t have any tight passages. The way forward was wide enough for a large bull to fit through.

Ironically enough, that put Tanuki at more unease than anything from before.

“Hey, Nuki!” Maduka looked back at him. “Did ya eat anything weird in da morning?”

“Uh, no. We drank the same berry juice, remember?”

“Huh. Alright. Maduka thought she smelt rotten eggz.”

Tanuki stopped walking.

“Rotten eggs?”

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He looked down and realized that the ground under him wasn’t stone anymore. It was made out of pink crystals, which the duo hadn’t realized only because of the dust coating it.

Tanuki went to the nearest wall and wiped the dust off of it. He could see the reflection of his eyes in the gemstone.

Suddenly, the reflection turned from human to crystalline. It wasn’t him anymore, but a being that’s entire body was made out of pink crystals. It had the face of a jack-o-lantern that shone with bright yellow. Its hands looked like oversized toothpicks, now aimed at Tanuki as it rushed forwards.

Craaash!

The being broke out of the crystal wall, shattering it like glass. Tanuki successfully evaded its attack, but in return, he fell to the ground and was now presented with the being’s impaler hand again.

He grabbed Kurohyou from his pocket and went to attack, but Maduka was faster.

“Ukee!” She screeched as she launched the spear through the creature’s mouth.

Surprisingly, it was effective. Whatever was emitting the light burst open and gave off yellow gas. The creature’s body fell to the ground and broke apart into large pieces of crystal.

“Rotten eggz… it was da monstah!” Maduka gasped from the surprise.

Tanuki placed a sharp piece of crystal in his palm. It was so incredibly clear like the most expensive jewelry in the entire world. That feature alone wouldn’t have been enough to sell it for a high price, but Tanuki already knew a dozen of ways he could exploit these gems.

“Good job, Maduka! You really saved me back there.”

“Oh, uh… Maduka’s cool…” She played with her hair in embarrassment.

Tanuki hit the gem against the ground to observe its durability. It didn’t shatter, which was good. What wasn’t so much though was the sound the crystal generated, which echoed loudly through the cave.

This was bad. He looked back at the ground one last time before standing up, only to see another crystalline figure run towards him from the floor.

“What?!”

The being burst through the floor, shooting sharp pieces of gem everywhere. If it weren’t for Tanuki acting quick and pushing away Maduka, she would’ve been impaled by the monster’s sharp arm.

“Kurohyou!” He drew his brush before the monster’s neck. “Detonate!”

Clink!

The cut made a beautiful sound. The monster didn’t have any time to retaliate, as its detached head fell to the ground and its body shattered.

The head rolled before Maduka, still glowing with a creepy smile. It only died when the goblin launched her spear through its mouth, bursting open its yellow sack of gas.

A golden cloud began to coat the cave. Tanuki coughed from the disgusting stench.

“Are you alright?” He wanted to ask Maduka, but the shattering gems were louder than him. Three more monsters burst through the wall, all of them filled with killing intent.