19. Humans Don’t Handle the Heat Very Well
The inside of the tunnels was far, far worse than Isaac had imagined. His pathetic images of happy cold things were quickly shattered in the wake of the very real, very aggressive heat. And not only was it heat, but it was humid heat. A giant wave of sticky moisture crashed over him straight on, and he immediately pressed the tablet to his forehead, dignity be damned.
“Oh my god. Why did I agree to this.”
In his half delirious state, he heard Olzu whisper very loudly to Mortimer, “Can humans not take heat very well?”
Mortimer responded, “No, not especially. I do believe Isaac is particularly bad with it.”
“Fuck off.”
Isaac squinted, attempting to focus his rapidly blurring vision. The inside of the tunnels, from what he could see, was significantly wider than he’d expected. The ceiling climbed high above them, and the stones glowed brightly, so brightly that it was difficult to make out separate rocks in the walls. They look like one, rippling red mass of molten lava twisting and warping around them. Mortimer and Olzu were standing a little ahead of him, both looking utterly unperturbed by the temperature.
Isaac narrowed his eyes at Mortimer, though it didn’t make much of a difference since he was already squinting. “Hang on. I thought corpses decomposed faster in heat.”
He thought he saw Mortimer smile slightly. “I’m a bit different from a corpse, but yes, that is usually true.”
Isaac rolled his eyes, then immediately regretted the wasted energy. “Can we please hurry up,” he gritted out. He didn’t hear a response, but based on the fact that the fuzzy silhouettes ahead of him were moving, he assumed they were indeed progressing forward. He forced his feet to move and follow.
He wasn’t sure how long they traveled through the tunnels, considering he was much more focused on making sure he didn’t collapse as he trudged through the heat that was so thick it felt like a solid substance. A vague part of him was a bit disappointed that he wasn’t fully conscious to appreciate the tunnels, but to be honest, if the temperature was this bad inside, he wasn’t sure he was all too interested in appreciating them in the first place.
After some more hazy time passed, Isaac was brought back to reality when his surroundings became distinctly cooler. He blinked a few times, looking around and realizing the glow of the stone walls had died into a faint shadow of its former brightness. This tunnel was much narrower than what he remembered the others being, the ceiling pressing down on them from above, and the walls were completely still with not a ripple nor pulse in sight.
Isaac pressed a hand against the walls and found them cool to the touch. He heard himself say “Oh thank god” before crouching down to catch his breath. It was even cooler near the ground, and he breathed in the blissfully light air. Instead of the earthen scent he’d been expecting, it smelled vaguely of smoke, though it was only a faint trace that didn’t otherwise affect his ability to use his lungs.
He heard movement and felt someone stand nearby. “Are you okay?” he heard Mortimer ask.
Isaac rubbed his head, waiting a few minutes to get his bearings before finally responding. “I am now.” He released a long sigh. “I’ve never wanted to be undead more.”
“Well, there’s some trade offs.”
At this point his vision had cleared up to its usual slightly fuzzy probably-should-wear-glasses state. His skin no longer felt like it was burning, which was a definite plus, but there was now a rather thick layer of sticky sweat cloaking him that he wasn’t too fond of.
When he straightened, he looked around and found Olzu standing a little ways ahead of the two of them. The small demon was staring at them and shifting from side to side. Dare he say he looked a little… guilty?
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Olzu must have caught Isaac watching him, because the demon immediately tilted his head up haughtily. “I didn’t think humans were so weak!” he said. Isaac just stared at him a little longer, silent, until Olzu started shifting his weight again.
“Right. Thanks,” he said wryly. Olzu didn’t meet his eyes and instead coughed, a sound that was significantly deeper and more guttural than his usual voice.
“Lord Lucius is down this tunnel,” he explained, pointing down the singular path in question. “He’s in the room at the very end. You’re an impudent, insolent, audacious child, but you must remember to knock first or the door will eat you!”
Isaac had seen enough of the Underside to be fairly certain that was literal, so he nodded. He wasn’t the most social person, but it wasn’t like he was some graceless heathen. He knew how to knock. Isaac paused, raising an eyebrow.
“Didn’t you say you were going to lead us all the way? Something about being the most trusted assistant or whatever?”
The demon stiffened. “W-well, you see.” His head fell back to its natural alignment, and his wings fluttered in small, quick jitters. “Casimir is visiting, so!”
Mortimer looked slightly more awake at the sound of the name. Isaac frowned. On one hand, he could survey two people at once, but on the other hand, he really didn’t know if he had the mental capacity to deal with the angel’s loudness right now after almost burning alive.
Isaac stared down at the demon, who was now slightly hopping from side to side and seemed to be doing his damnedest to avoid looking anyone in the eye. He paused, considering.
“Hm. Well, okay then. We’ll go by ourselves.”
Olzu looked so visibly relieved that Isaac couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He added, “Thanks for guiding us.”
“You were a very good guide,” Mortimer said. Isaac wouldn’t go that far, but the combined praise seemed to have been enough to get Olzu cheery again.
“Of course! I’m the best assistant after all!” In the next moment, the demon scampered past them, heading back through the tunnels with a burst of speed. Isaac amusedly noted the change from “most trusted” to “best,” though it was too late to comment on it now, considering Olzu was already out of sight.
He shook his head and turned to Mortimer, who was staring down the hallway-tunnel intently. Right, from his perspective he was about to meet two legendary figures.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Isaac warned. “They’re pretty normal.” He paused, remembering Casimir’s maniacal laugh. “Well, not normal, but they don’t really feel like Level 91s.”
“I thought the two of them were enemies,” Mortimer observed.
Isaac frowned. “Eh, sort of. They fight all the time, but it’s not very serious.” Not that any fight ever felt particularly serious with the current system in place. Proof that it was working as Lilith intended, he supposed.
Mortimer just hummed in response, remaining silent as they walked down the blissfully cool hallway. The glowing red became fainter and fainter until, by the time the door came into view, the stone walls were completely still and dark, no different than a cave on Earth might be if one didn’t know better.
The door they soon came across, however, was a staunch reminder that this was indeed still the Underside’s Inferno. It was massive, extending all the way up to the ceiling and the sides of the tunnel. An intricate mouth filled with jagged teeth was carved into what appeared to be plain grey stone, though as they approached, Isaac realized that it adopted a violet or reddish hue depending on the angle, much like the pendant Olzu always wore.
One carved tooth was about the height of him, and whoever had created the door had taken great pains to add minute details to the gums and teeth, making the mouth look alive. Isaac looked around and found no handle, not even a seam where a door might open. He thought back to Olzu’s words and vaguely wondered what the demon expected him to do besides knock when there wasn’t even a way for someone to barge in in the first place that he could see.
Nodding at Mortimer, who was inspecting the carving intently, he raised his hand, paused as he attempted to find a smooth enough surface, and finally knocked three times on one of the front teeth.
At first, nothing happened. Then, a faint rumbling could be heard, steadily growing louder, and he took a step back as the carved mouth began to glow. Stone teeth extended away from the surface of the door, snapping apart and spreading until the mouth was open, leaving a gaping entrance through which he could see nothing but inky darkness.
The Inferno was really incapable of having architecture that wasn’t vaguely threatening or complicated, Isaac thought. Hey, he could appreciate the dedication to the aesthetic.
He reached a hand into the open maw, verifying that it was indeed an opening and not another wall or something like that. Carefully, he raised a leg and stepped through the open teeth.
Half submerged within the darkness, there was a strange energy to it. It had the effects of something cold, yet didn’t feel particularly so. Still, it didn’t seem dangerous, so Isaac took a deep breath, swung his other leg over, and stepped all the way through.