The orb illuminated the mine's interior, revealing multiple openings with each one supported by rustic wooden beams. All sorts of equipment were scattered throughout the area, from broken shovels to shattered helmets.

*"This area must be it..."*

Scouting the area around us, something made my spine shiver, like we were not supposed to be here.

Fiera's hand trembled against my arm, her grip tightening as we went further inside. She hadn't spoken since her laughter had faded, and the closer we got to the area where her team had vanished, the more the tension between us grew.

"We're near... where I lost consciousness all of a sudden..." She whispered to me, her face giving out a terrified expression.

"It's alright!" I gently patted her head, "We'll find your friends and leave here safe!"

Suddenly Nereus stopped walking, his bright orb flickered to a dim light just before returning to its normal brightness.

"Stop... All of you... I detected something...." His voice was barely audible.

"What is it?" I asked, stepping forward cautiously. The rest of the group stood back, their eyes surveying the area behind us.

Nereus didn't answer my question, he stood still, his serious expression replaced with a troubled one.

"I think it's safe now, there's nothing ahead-" Then I saw it, something half buried in the dirt ahead.

At first glance, it looked like a pile of rusty mining tools, but as the bright orb hovered forward, my body froze. A decomposed arm was sticking out from beneath the rubble, its fingers were curled as if it was crawling to escape its fate.

"What is that—" Fiera suddenly ran ahead, bumping into Karn and Lythael as she whispered something. She kneeled beside the remains, her arms and fingers shaking violently trying to uncover the remains, revealing what was left of a torn gauntlet. The sigil on the back was still visible, a phoenix, carved into sigils. Fiera's symbol.

"No... No... No... No...." Her voice shattered, each word more broken than the last. Heavy tears fell into the dirt as she stared at the gauntlet. "Angelo.... You said we would go eat meat skewers after this...."

I knelt beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder, trying to offer what little comfort I could. But seeing her like this, seeing her soul crumble as she held onto the last piece of someone she used to be with, something twisted inside me.

Her smile, once full of life, was now drenched in tears, her lips shaking as she forced out the words, "You promised me..."

The group's atmosphere went stale, The weight of her loss felt like it was suffocating us all. This wasn't a random death, it was someone important to Fiera. The air felt heavier, and thicker, as she burst into tears, her screams filled with grief. And in that moment, nothing else mattered.

Karn's expression tightened, gripping his axe with all his strength, "He went off as a man....Whatever he was fighting, he did great....". His voice was low, filled with anger.

"Something or someone..... Look at the surroundings... No footprints... No markings.. All clean... Like he died in an instant...." Lythael stooped forward, trying to comfort Fiera while she was grieving.

I scanned the ground, and to my surprise, Lythael was telling the truth, there was no struggle, no footprints nor marks of any battle, just Angelo's arm remained, and his body was nowhere to be found in the rubble.

"Impossible... It can't be the hellhounds..." Nereus muttered, "Whatever did this... it's something beyond our imagination..."

"It's impossible... he was the strongest in our group...." Fiera finally recovered from her outburst, she picked up the gauntlet of Angelo, clutching it tightly to her chest.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

A subtle laugh echoed from deeper in the tunnel. The sound made my blood run cold, giving me goosebumps everywhere. Fiera's gaze shot up, eyes wide with fear.

"Everyone get in position!" Nereus commanded, In an instant, we moved into formation, each of us covering every angle of attack. My heart pounded fast, each beat seeming louder in the silence that followed.

Then, from the darkness, a figure emerged.

At first, it was hard to make out what was approaching us, until a dark silhouette blending into the shadows came out of the darkness. The bright orb flickered again, casting a dim light against the creature, revealing two human figures.

The figure stepped forward, and I caught my breath.

There were two of them.

The taller one was hunched slightly, his body hidden beneath a long black robe, its edges sweeping the dirt as he moved. His hair was wild, and tangled as he'd just woken up from a deep slumber, and his loud steps gave the impression that something was wrong with him. His companion was smaller, entirely wrapped in white bandages, wearing the same robe as him, his red eyes sparkling from beneath the bandages.

The pair stood there, just outside of the visible light, and then the smaller one spoke, his voice gave an eerie feeling.

"Did you take care of the others?"

The other one turned his head slightly, not towards the small figure, but almost as if he was listening to something else, something that we couldn't hear. He yawned, letting out a stretch in his mouth before replying.

"Of course! If you don't stop blaming me I'll take care of you right here! right now!"

The smaller one snapped back, grabbing the neck of his companion before shouting at him, "Then what's up with the noise in the upper level!"

My mind raced. The robes, they weren’t just any robes. A flash of memory hit me—the market street. The mysterious figure I had seen that disappeared before entering the Adventurers society, was him. The same robe, the same eerie presence.

I couldn't move, my hands trembled in fear, and the mere presence of the two gave the group shivers and cold sweat. We were a group, but it felt like we were outnumbered.

"Don't lose focus..." Nereus whispered to us, his voice trembling slightly as he reached out for his second blade. "Whatever you do... Don't catch their attention"

Everyone was slowly backing off, each step we took was nimble and void of noise until all of a sudden Karn stood at the front, he swung his axe into the floor, with the intent to taunt the two ahead of us. His face had a wide smile like he was waiting for someone strong to fight.

"Hey! You two! Mind us asking what ya doing there?" He shouted with all his might,

"Karn! We don't have data about our enemy! We can't risk this anymore!" Nereus warned Karn, he tugged his arms back, but his words went on deaf ears.

The taller figure turned to us slowly, and for a moment his stare met mine, his eyes were empty of life. He gave a creepy smile, revealing a set of teeth with a small gap in the middle, as though he was toying with us.

"Oh? Hey Olem, fattie here is asking us?" the tall one spoke, turning his head back to his companion.

"Don't be revealing our name, you blockhead! You might as well scream your name, Nahci!" the small one replied, hammering his fist into the wall, creating a shockwave as the rubble fell into the dirt.

Olem's bandaged face twitched slightly, turning in our direction with an eerie stillness, his red eyes glimmered under his bandages. He raised his hand slowly, brushing the dirt off his robes before speaking in a calm, almost casual tone.

"You guys, leave now.... This place isn't a place to dilly dally at... This isn't Seasand's territory anymore.." Olem said, his voice was steady but every word he said was enough to make us tremble.

The room was silent, the group stood still as Olem raised his hand, pointing at the exit behind us.

"One minute.... One minute to head back to the entrance of this cave...." he continued, his voice growing louder with each word he spoke. "Before we are allowed to execute you all.... Now go!"

The taller figure, Nahci, chuckled loudly behind Olem, the eeriness of his laugh made the hair in my arms go up in seconds. "One minute? You're going soft nowadays! Give em 30 seconds! So I can finally stretch my legs." He stepped forward, his shadow was towering over our group, his presence oppressive and unsettling.

*"This is not good... We should probably leave now..."* I glanced at Nereus, hoping for some guidance, but his face was filled with concentration, his eyes switching between the two figures. He didn’t say anything, but the slight shake in his hands betrayed his nervousness.

Lythael was holding Fiera by the arm, ready to carry her and dash out, I could see Fiera trembling, trying to process everything that was happening, the loss, the danger, the sheer overwhelming odds we were now facing.

We began to walk away slowly, every step made my heart beat faster as anytime those two could make a move until Karn stood still.

He stood still, his every step filled with fury as he swung his axe on his back, "Minute? I'll need a minute to beat you both to a pulp!" He charged towards the both of them, slamming his axe into the ground to make a smokescreen for us.

“Karn, wait—” I shouted, but he cut me off with a glare, his face filled with determination.

I was already trembling in fear, but the sudden appearance of the system made my hopes go high until I read the content of the notification, it was the last thing I wanted to happen.

//NEW MAIN QUEST//

// 3. Evil Bloodlust //

//Objective: Survive the encounter of Nahci and Olem//

// Status: In Progress//

//Reward: ???//