Axel had missed a trick. The sewers were clean. Relatively speaking, that is. They were still coated in blood and gore from the zombies we’d already killed. But they didn’t stink of shit, for which I was grateful.
I had time to think about it, wedged in between Cloridan and Kyle as they fought their way down the tunnel. I was mainly there for the light source. We had lightstones, but a floating [Light] spell was more convenient and flexible in application.
Was it because the sewers weren’t supposed to have been in use, with almost all of the inhabitants of the town dead? I didn’t think that was it. There was still moisture down here, so there should have been mould and mildew, at least. And the station was still using its toilets—it had a tank on the roof that they had to fill manually.
One possibility was that Axel had gotten his information about zombies from movies that had less-than-realistic sets. But it seemed more likely that it was a side effect of the gnawing zombies. They could eat rock, but I doubted they got any sustenance from it. I suspected that when they weren’t under orders to destroy a building from beneath, they just quietly roamed the sewers, munching on any organic material they found.
That was what they were doing now. Something prevented them from going after other zombies, but as soon as one was dead, it was fair game. They didn’t like the lights I brought, so as soon as Cloridan provided the ones in the back with a meal, they dragged the corpse back into the darkness. Then, we got to move a few steps forward before they charged us again. Where they were putting it, I didn’t know, but we’d be tripping over corpses if they weren’t so eager to clean up after themselves.
Kyle was guarding our rear. The size of his shield made advancing while fighting difficult, but it made for a good defence. With him blocking the tunnel, there wasn’t enough room for a zombie to make it past. The ones that tried were easily stabbed.
We didn’t have far to go, but at the same time, we didn’t want to get lost. Kyle was holding our exit, and there was a short stretch of zombie-free tunnel between him and Cloridan that we were gradually extending. The plan was to do that until we found a junction—either part of the sewer plan or gnawed out by the zombies.
Before that happened, though, we heard a voice.
“Hello? Is someone there?”
As fights went, this one was pretty quiet. Gnawers tended to only make low-pitched gurgles when they weren’t chewing on anything, and we were keeping our voices down. Even the impacts of Cloridan’s daggers were muted. There wasn’t any armour for him to punch through, only tough, rubbery flesh.
So even though the voice wasn’t very loud, we both heard it. Cloridan didn’t freeze, since that would have been suicidal. Talking to people was my job, so he left it to me.
“Is someone there?” I called out.
“I can hear you!” It sounded like a girl's or a young boy’s voice. “I can see the light! I’m headed towards you!”
“Don’t! We’re in a fight right now!” I said hastily. “Stay where you are, and we’ll come for you!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” the voice said.
I pushed one of my [Light] spells forward, behind the oncoming zombies and toward where the voice had come from. We’d learned not to do it that way, or they wouldn’t withdraw to eat the corpses. But this way, I might get a glimpse of who was trying to reach us.
Cloridan had heard the conversation and redoubled his efforts. We could see the junction up ahead. Then, a zombie came flying out of the side passage.
It hissed as it flew across the narrow tunnel and slammed into the wall. It slumped to the ground, unmoving.
As one, all the zombies that we could see turned and charged at the side tunnel. Cloridan cut one down as it turned, but the rest raced back out of sight. Then the sounds started.
Hisses from the zombies, somehow agitated in a way they hadn’t been before. Wet, splattering sounds, much like that flying zombie had made. And other sounds, softer but no less disturbing. Meat and gristle being torn apart, bones snapping…
The sounds stopped, and it was quiet for a moment. Then, a small boy came around the corner.
“Hello! I’m so glad I finally found some humans like me!” he said.
“Not like you,” I said, looking at my notification.
Warning! Demon Detected!
[Identification]: - Cherubial- Threat: Unknown - Properties: Unknown
Warning! Demon Detected!
From the way Cloridan stiffened, I knew that he saw it, too.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
The cherubial smiled innocently. “What do you mean? Aren’t we both humans?”
I’d been learning to pay attention to the instincts that came with my weapon skills. Gripping my dagger brought the skill to mind, and it was telling me that I couldn’t hit this child. Not in a straight fight. Cloridan didn’t move, so I guessed that he didn’t like his chances either. Not with the way that child had torn those zombies apart.
That left talking. However, as I reached for my social skills, they… failed to engage. Whatever was standing before me, I could no more [Persuade], [Charm], or [Intimidate] it, than I could a rock.
It was possible that was because the cherubial was so alien that such concepts didn’t apply, but I doubted it. It was standing there talking to me, after all. More likely, whatever hooks the System inserted into people's brains to let the skills do their magic, weren’t able to get under the cherubial’s skull.
“You’re not human,” I said, readying [Improved Blind] in my head, “You’re a demon.”
The cherubial cocked its head. “That’s silly. Of course, I’m human. What makes you think I’m not?”
Technically, “you can tear apart zombies like they’re tissue paper” wasn’t the answer. Humans could do that. It would be weird for one of them to be of sufficiently high level, but it was possible.
“How long have you been living down here?” I asked instead. “What have you been eating?”
“A long time. I got lost in the dark,” the cherubial said. It gestured at the zombie corpses. “I’ve been eating the crawling creatures. They have more than enough moisture in them, so I don’t need to drink.”
“Yeah, that’s not something a human could do,” I said.
It cocked its head again. “Humans can eat flesh.”
“Not raw, and not zombie flesh,” I said. “It's rotten.”
Or diseased, or potentially human, I thought to myself, but didn’t feel the need to educate the demon that thoroughly.
“Oh… bother…” the demon said. “What happens now, then? I don’t want to have to hurt you.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I got lost, like I said,” the cherubial said. “I came through a gate and then it got a bit confused, and then it was all dark. I’ve been wandering through tunnels ever since. What are you doing down here?”
I wanted to ask it how long she’d been down here for, but I doubt it knew. It wasn’t wearing a watch, and if it had been in darkness the entire time… Instead, I tried answering its question.
“We’re from the city above,” I said. “Gnawing zombies are eating the foundations and are going to make the building collapse.”
“A city!” the cherubial exclaimed. “That sounds much more exciting than down here.”
“Don’t get your hopes up,” I said wryly. “It’s filled with zombies, and not many people at all.”
“Bother,” the cherubial said, pouting. “So these zombies that were eating your foundation. Were they the ones up that tunnel?”
It pointed at the side passage it had come from.
“Probably,” I said. “But they were gnawing from more than one location.”
“Like that one, maybe?” It pointed at another side passage on the other side of the tunnel. “I could take care of them for you. Then we would be friends, yes?”
“I’m not sure we can trust a demon,” I hedged.
“I am not sure what that term means, or how it is relavent,” the demon said sternly. “You have no basis for distrusting me, as I have not acted against your interests.”
“We’re worried that you will… act against our interests,” I said.
“I have no reason to,” it assured me. “There is plenty of food. All I seek is to leave this place.”
“These tunnels, or this world?” I asked. “Because this world doesn’t want you here. It tells us to kill demons like you on sight.”
“How inhospitable. Is murder the only solution?” the demon asked, cocking its head again. “Because I do not think that would go well for you.”
“Well… you could leave?” I tried. “The portal you came through is quite close, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know,” the cherubial admitted. “Fairly close, I think, but I do not know the route through the tunnels.”
“We’re looking for it,” I told it. “We could have a truce that gets us to the gate. Then you can go back.”
“That is acceptable. But right now, I should take care of the crawlers, yes?”
It turned and strode purposefully up the other passage. The moment it was out of sight, Cloridan grabbed my arm.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he whispered urgently. I quickly cast [Privacy], we didn’t know what its senses were like.
“Did you want to fight her?” I asked. He pursed his lips like it’d tasted something sour.
“No,” he admitted. “But that’s all the more reason not to take him back to the others. Kyle will freak if you bring a demon within a hundred yards of Felicia.”
“I’m not wild about it,” I agreed. “But our chances are a lot better if we’re in the open and everyone can go after her. And I’ll feel a lot better about our chances if Borys is in the room.”
He got a sour look again. “That is a good point,” he said reluctantly.
“I’ll wait here. Go back and fill Kyle in. If it stays quiet, go up and let the others know what’s going on.”
“Will you be all right?” he asked doubtfully. “I know you can’t take a zombie on by yourself.”
“I can run just fine, and you’re not going too far,” I said. “Get going.”
I cancelled the spell, and he headed back, looking out for me over his shoulder.
It wasn’t long before I heard a quieter version of the sounds from before. The zombies were a little further away this time, but that was the only difference. It didn’t take any longer.
“There!” the cherubial said as it stepped around the corner. “That should take care of your foundation problem.”
“Were they gnawing on the rock?” I asked.
“They were,” it assured me. “The gnawing sound is distinctive, and I don’t hear other sources of it near.”
“That’s reassuring,” I said. I looked at the side tunnels. They were clearly not part of the original sewer design and looked like they had been chewed out by gnawers, no doubt on Axel’s orders. With the assigned zombies gone, would more spawn to finish the job? I didn’t think so, but there might be more wandering down here that might follow an open tunnel.
I cast [Stone Shape] and started pulling the rock towards me to block off the passage. The demon watched me in fascination.
“So that is what that stuff is for!” it said.
“You can see mana?” I asked.
“If that’s what it’s called. I can see that you’re controlling it, and it controls the rock. It’s fascinating!”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” I said flatly. I smoothed over the walls, leaving no traces of the tunnels behind them.
“Your companion should have had enough time to spread the word of my arrival,” the demon said. “Shall we join them? I’m very much looking forward to seeing daylight again.”
It got a concerned look on its face. “This world does have daylight, doesn’t it?”
“Well, where we are right now is fake daylight, but it looks real enough. Or will, once the night is over,” I said.
The demon frowned. “That’s disappointing.”
“All the more reason to leave,” I pointed out. “We’re in a bubble, designed in part to keep demons trapped, unable to enter the real world.”
“What are you doing here, then?”
“Hell if I know,” I admitted. “I’m hoping to get some answers when we find that portal.”
I started heading back to the exit.
“One thing before we get back,” I asked. “You got a name?”
“I do!” the demon said, brightening. “It’s Sarothiel!”