Chapter 91

I stood in this cesspool of blood and organs. Goblin bodies litter the floor and are covered in blood. My swords dripped blood. The fire in the middle was extinguished by all the purple juices that spilt across the floor.

Ugly cries of infant goblins echoed around the cave. They cried for their parents, hoping their lifeless bodies would get up and save them from the insanity that I caused.

Amelia stood where she was while I slayed the camp. She did not move at all. She just watched.

"Is that all!?" I screamed out. "I thought goblins would outnumber me!"

The cries of the remaining infants screeched in my ears. Just as ugly as their adult voices.

I walked up to each of them and stabbed them. Every single one. They were shaking the dead body of their parents, hoping for a pulse. Too bad their bodies were beyond any healing.

"God damn it…" I muttered. "I'm so irritated…"

"Are you done?" Amelia asked as she stepped into the room for the first time.

"Done? Hell no!" I shouted. "I want to get out of this fucking cave!"

"Language," Amelia said as she calmly walked past the dead bodies.

"I haven't slept in nearly a day. All I've had is unseasoned wolf meat and bread that tastes like crap,"

"You got us into this," Amelia rebutted. "You made the choice to go insane,"

"You're right," I laughed. "I decided for this torture,"

"Since I decided to torture myself, now, I've decided that I'm killing everything and getting out of this mess…"

"Alright," Amelia said as she walked to the next tunnel. "Let's go and kill everything."

Adrenaline pumped in my veins. I rushed towards the next tunnel and continued to run through the same old tunnel.

I was beginning to go crazy. This cave is useless to me if I cannot find a good foe. There are only crowds of weaklings. Scattered in a maze-like dungeon to find and kill.

Amelia and I ran through the tunnel, trying to find a new cave. More goblins appeared but I sliced through them with ease, or I used fire to burn them to a crisp.

"Papa! Calm down!" Amelia shouted at me as I burnt the goblins. "Don't waste mana! You need it!"

"Amelia… you don't understand…" I said as I began dashing through once again. "There are sixteen mana crystals inside the rucksack. If I ever need mana, I can get it back in an instant. Right now… all I am is a massacring machine!"

Goblins were not the only danger in the cave I once thought was safe. Countless centipedes and creatures stood no chance in front of me.

There was nothing in my mind other than murder. This cave has made me lose it. I don't want to stay in this cave anymore.

My clothes have been tainted with the blood of all colours. There is not a single inch on my shirt that is white or an inch of beige on my pants. My socks are wet from blood and my shoes are covered in them as well.

Dried blood was coated all over my hair and face. My body reeks of intestines from different creatures.

These conditions… It reminds me of my past. The blood I could smell the after returning home. The terrible odour that always lingered around the slums. They're back.

Another exit to the tunnel. This exit seemed more promising than the rest.

I raced through the tunnel and reached the exit. As soon as I came out, I stopped in my tracks, sliding across the rough ground and nearly stumbling.

When I came to a stop, the pointed tip of my shoes was hanging off a massive drop. A drop that would've led to my death. It was a ravine that went to the core of the earth.

"Amelia! Slow down!" I shouted back as I took a few steps back. "There's a drop!"

"Wha-" Amelia said as she tried to stop.

She halted only inches away from dropping. Her left foot slipped but she managed to control herself and step back.

"Why don't you have your wings out?" I asked her.

"They're rather weak compared to my body. It would be difficult if something were to happen to them," Amelia explained.

"Hmm, good point," I told her. "Well, let's look around this ravine,"

"Get on my back," She said as she grew wings out of her back. "This is my place!"

"No need," I said as I sheathed my swords. "You're not the only one who can fly,"

"What do you mean-"

I hovered one foot over the drop. If I take this step, I would fall to my death.

That is if I didn't have the knowledge of flight.

I created mini tornados on my foot to let me hover. The winds would push me up and stop me from falling to my demise.

"Smart," Amelia said with a smirk.

We began to slowly float down the narrow ravine. The lower we went, the more I felt like there was no end. It was endless all the way.

Just when I thought there was no end, I noticed the floor. It was made of ice.

"Ice?" I questioned. "Strange,"

We gently land on the slippery floor. Amelia dug her claws into the thick ice below and kept her balance. Meanwhile, I struggled to keep my balance.

"W-woah!" I exclaimed in a panic. "This is really slippery!"

Instead of helping me, Amelia began laughing her head off. I swiftly brought out my sword and dug into the ice, finally keeping my balance.

"Hahaha! Sucks to have no balance!" She laughed. "How about taking some help from me?"

"No need," I told her. "I can use my sword as a stick,"

"Whatever lets you sleep at night,"

"I haven't slept in a day,"

Gently, I began taking small steps forward. The floor was completely frozen. The temperature dropped significantly. It was freezing down here.

A strange phenomenon. It was freezing inside a cave that led down so low. The closer you get to the planet's centre, the warmer it should be.

"This is odd," I whispered. "This kind of temperature is unexpected at this depth,"

"Well, I don't think this is the strangest occurrence," Amelia said while looking around.

"No, it is," I replied. "This is definitely the strangest. The others had an explanation at the very least. This has no explanation,"

"Huh? How so?" Amelia raised an eyebrow.

"The closer you get to the center, the hotter it should be. But here… the temperature is below freezing,"

"What does this mean then?"

"I wish I could answer that,"

Amelia and I looked around the ravine, looking at the walls and trying to find anything. All I could find were the same old crystals, lighting up the ravine all the way here.

Blue luminescent light glowed from underneath the frozen water. But the ice was too foggy to see through. It was too deep as well. There was no way to see what was at the bottom.

There are no exits here either. It's just a massive drop to a narrow frozen lake.

"Wait, I sense something," Amelia suddenly whipped around.

"What is-" I said before being cut off.

A cracking sound came from underneath. Slowly, the ice began to crack underneath us.

Before the two of us could react, the ice under us weakened at a rapid pace. A massive crack went across the icy floor and stopped when it reached the other end.

"Don't move… a single foot…" I whispered to Amelia.

My heart raced as I tried to figure out what to do. If we moved a single inch, we could be falling into an ice-cold lake with no end.

"On the count of three, fly up. Okay?" I looked at Amelia and told her.

"Okay…" She murmured.

"One… Two… Three!"

Amelia flapped her wings as hard as she could lift off from the ground. I managed to perfectly time it and send a wind burst under my legs to shoot me up.

The once icy floor suddenly dropped down. Instead of floating on water as I expected, the entire floor fell into the ravine.

"W-what!?" I exclaimed in shock. "There's no floor!?"

"What do you mean!?" Amelia shouted. "Why would there be ice but no floor!?"

"The ice is falling! There was a drop under us!"

The ice fell to the ground and shattered. The sound of ice shattering echoed around the narrow walls and continued as we floated up.

We land on our feet and take a moment. We both were puzzled. There were no answers to these strange happenings.

"There was a solid layer of ice over a massive drop," I said while taking sharp breaths. "A fake floor,"

"Look there," Amelia said as she turned to the left. "There seems to be a doorway,"

"Doorway?" I looked closer. "Why would a door be inside a ravine?"

I sheath my steel sword and begin walking to the doorway that we spotted. She wasn't lying. It was a perfect rectangular shape, perfect for a door to a room.

The closer we got, the harder it became for Amelia to walk. She was too big for the narrow walkway at the top of the ravine.

"Watch your step," I told her. "You're too big for this part,"

"W-well, I can always fly," She stuttered, an uneasy feeling growing in both of us.

I held my breath and made it to the doorway. I sigh a deep breath of relief as I walk inside. Amelia followed behind me, trying her best to not look to her right.

"Phew! That was close!" She exclaimed, relieved and taking a breather.

"Let's continue now," I said while looking in front of us.

The tunnel was perfectly rectangular as if cut by a machine. This is truly the strangest phenomenon so far.

A ravine where the temperature is below freezing, a tunnel that is shaped in a perfect rectangular. None of this adds up.

The temperature slowly became warmer. It made it easier to walk and not shiver in the cold.

But, as I thought it could not become stranger, it happened.

A staircase made of stone. The steps were all equal, or at least looked like they were. It looked old, overgrown with moss and slippery with water.

"Huh? Stairs?" I muttered. "But… this is a cave that has never been inhabited by humans,"

"Goblins, perhaps?" Amelia answered with logic.

"Goblins are not this smart to make stairs so equal,"

Nevertheless, the answer must await at the bottom of these stairs. Before I thought more logically, I began to take my first steps down the staircase.

Amelia followed behind. Her body barely fit inside the cave. She had to retract her wings to enter.

"How come you can make your wings appear and disappear?" I asked her, curious about such magic.

"It's an ability I have," She explained. "It's like changing forms. I can be winged or wingless,"

"That's quite useful," I complimented.

"Right? Wings can be quite a hassle from time to time!"

"I still remember your adorable tiny wings when you were just a baby," I chuckled while reminiscing.

"Shut up!" She exclaimed in embarrassment. "I was so tiny back then! I could fit in your pocket,"

The memories I have with Amelia are ones that I hold dearly. Like a parent, I could remember the day she was born. Everything from the way Mori's realm looked to the moment the egg hatched.

"These stairs are really old, aren't they?" Amelia said as we continued down.

"They seem to like it," I answered. "Moss takes years to grow. There's a lot of moss on this,"

"Makes it all so spooky," Her voice sounded uneasy.

"Scared?" I chuckled. "Do you think there's… paranormal activities?"

"Eek! Stop!" She shouted. "Don't scare me like that,"

"Just think about it… It's a mysterious staircase, made centuries ago. It's dark, damp and we are inside a cave…"

Amelia began shivering as I scared her further. The once mighty dragon that could kill the King wolf in a minute, was now frightened by paranormal theories.

"Only joking!" I exclaimed to calm her. "Obviously it's a joke!"

"You're so mean!" She cried out, sounding frightened.

"I'm trying to have fun!"

After a while of walking in silence, we made it to the bottom.

The sight in front of us was… interesting. It was like nothing before. It was almost… mythical.