**Lysandra's POV**
When we left the Guild, I prayed. It wasn't the typical prayer of devotion offered to Aureon as part of my official Cleric duties, nor was it part of my own personal desire to commune with Him, as was frequently the case. I wanted to know what He had in store for us, what type of future lay ahead. More importantly, would this change be permanent?
I looked over at Aric as he was negotiating with the carriage driver. He seemed a bit more proactive after the discussion with Lord Hartwell. Maybe it's because things were more in motion than when we were stuck traveling that he was able to stay occupied enough to keep his mind off everything.
Still, while his attitude towards the driver was professional, I could see the pain was still there, hidden away. Our group could always depend on him. No matter the hurdles we faced, his confidence and calm reactions were always a crutch for the rest of us. I always admired how he could cool-headedly shoulder everything.
After what happened, I feared that we would lose him. More so, I feared that he would lose himself. The death of Arth shook him to his core. The usual calm and steady head of his was likely filled with nothing but chaotic scenes of murder. I knew I wouldn't be any better in his situation; judgment was the last thing on my mind. I was just afraid, deeply afraid that he wouldn't come back to us.
So, I prayed. I prayed for Aureon's Grace.
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The driver dropped us off about half a mile from the dungeon. It likely wasn't necessary for him to be that far away, but I respected his desire to stay safe. Normally, at this time, I'd expect to hear a petty fight coming from Eld and Seraphina. I glanced their way only to see them diligently walking ahead, alert of their surroundings. At the time, I was partly relieved that they acted in consideration of Aric. The other part of me, however, was saddened by the reminder of our situation.
If that was the only observation I had, my mood wouldn't have been so poor. Aric would always give his analysis on how to handle our enemies while asking for our feedback. Instead, he just walked ahead of the group, seemingly uncaring whether we kept up or not. My heart ached realizing that we might never really recover from this.
I guess Seraphina noticed my ever-increasing worry, as she started listing off the details of the dungeon given by the Guild.
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"From what I heard, there's just the one tier 4 demon. The dungeon has several skeletons and a few zombies, so considering this and its tier, it's probably just a necromancy type. Still, we should be careful of low-level mind attacks. Lys, we'll be counting on you."
"Leave it to me." I did my best to give a reassuring smile.
As the cleric of the group, they had to rely on me to cleanse the evil magic used by demons. Be it for purging the abominations created or liberating people from the insidious spells able to invade bodies and minds, the holy energy of light provided by Aureon is needed.
Our group never fought demons, though. My usual responsibilities were buffs and heals, so I was a little nervous facing this new challenge. I reminded myself that undead summoned by a tier 4 necromancer would be weak overall, and especially so in the face of my magic. The opponent was outmatched one against four, and his specialty of summoning undead monsters should've been easy.
"Nothing with our usual lineup will change. Seraphina and I will take the front and keep the undead back. Eld, you protect Lys as she purifies them and throw in some control spells. When we find the demon, leave the capturing to me."
Aric solemnly informed us of the plan and my expression brightened. I noticed the other two felt relieved, as well. I was wondering if he was going to speak at all in this dungeon raid, but it seems I might have been too worried. Perhaps, he wouldn't be forever lost to us after all, I hoped.
When we arrived at a certain point, I noticed the gradual corruption of my light energy had begun. The concentrated evil escaping the Abyss through dungeon portals had the effect of sapping the energy and life of God's creation. That's why, enemies aside, adventurers could only stay so long in dungeons even of lower ranks.
As the energy of Eld and I began to dwindle, I saw goosebumps begin to form on Seraphina and Aric. Some mages spread nasty rumors about melee fighters being cowards afraid of dungeons. I could never fathom why. Everyone with some sense to them knew damn well that it was the opposite case. Fighters had to be full of courage to enter dungeons for one simple reason; they lacked the protection of energy circulation from the dark Abyss.
This, of course, resulted in them feeling extreme cold chills and showing goose bumps. I have always found melee combatants to be the most noble and admirable of Adventurers. We, clerics, were gifted the ability to wield Aureon's authority, and mages had their own special gift of controlling magic energy. Warriors and rogues could only struggle to pull mana in and strengthen their bodies, yet they preserved and even often served as the leaders of parties.
We came to a stop. There was a hole dug out by the guild leading underground in front of us. Obviously, the demons hiding away would never leave a path to them, so there was a special division for locating dungeons and making them accessible. That being said, they could only do so much in terms of structure, especially considering the limited time they could stay to build around the portal.
The entrance before us looked incredibly steep, to the point where I questioned if we could walk down it. My doubts on how to proceed were answered by Aric who sat down and actually slid on the dirt into the darkness. I exchanged looks with the other two, and Seraphina shrugged before following our hasty leader.
Eld gave me an encouraging smile and nod before descending himself. I plopped myself on the dirt, giving my beautiful white cleric robes a not-so-lovely shade of brown. I couldn't afford to hesitate with my friends ahead of me; I steeled my mind and slid into the unknown.