23 The Abyss

*Sometime later...*

Underneath the light of the full moon, torches in hand to see through the darkness of the night were two armoured men.

They seemed to be taking things slowly, carefully looking where ever they could as they traversed through the grass, nothing but the sound of the cold win, crickets and their own footsteps entering their ears as they began whispering in a low voice.

"Henlo… This is so weird… All of those broken trees are not normal… Where did all of the beasts go? Wasn't this forest full of them? I've barely seen any. Hell, I've barely heard even a sound…"

"Well, there was an attack on a city near here not too long ago, I wouldn't be surprised if the beasts ran away or are in hiding,"

"But, wouldn't we have seen them on the way? They must have gone somewhere, right?"

"Eh, doesn't really matter. This just makes it easier for us, they were never even our objective anyways. Remember, we are only here for the forest guardian; no way he would ever leave this forest for some attackers,"

"Yeah, I guess… But, it's still pretty off…"

"*sigh* just shut up and follow me, there's a cave up ahead, from the look of it, I have a feeling this might be where he's at. If you're acting like this, why did you take up this job knowing all the dangers?"

"I'm just a simple magic caster in need of some money. I've been in debt for a long time now due to magic academy. For the difficulty, this was the best paying job I've seen at the guild in a very long time, so, I decided to take it with a team. Other than money, why are you doing this? Fame? Recognition? Power?"

Henlo suddenly stopped and once again took a deep breath before he continued forward, leading the way towards the dark cave.

"That's where you and I differ. Your motivations are shallow and selfish, mine go much deeper. My daughter has been really sick for the past month… Her mother already passed away due to that same sickness and it was all because I wasn't able to secure money for a healer… Curse those damn temples and their unreasonable prices!"

"..."

"You know, I have a few healing spells in my arsenal, I might be able to do something to help…"

"Idiot! First, that would be highly illegal. And, second, If it were that simple I wouldn't be this desperate! This isn't like a mere scratch or sickness! This is an expensive treatment that might need some offerings!"

"Wow… I'm sorry man, I'm just trying to help…"

Henlo once again took a deep breath and rubbed his fingers on his temples.

"Yeah, I get that. Thanks for the offer, I didn't mean to snap like that."

"It's okay, I can only imagine how stressful this must all be on you…"

"Yeah…" He looked down with a sad gaze before looking back up once again, peering straight into the dark abyss-like cave.

"Okay, remember, we're only here to scout… The bear might well be in there probably sleeping so lower the brightness of your torch. Keep your guard up and expect the unexpected. Once we confirm the bear's location, we need to quickly get out of here and report to the leader. I don't want to hear a single peep from you okay?"

"Yeah… I know, you don't have to tell me… [ Dampen ]" The man held his staff with more confidence than ever before, casting a spell that reduced the sound of footsteps.

"Good… Now follow me,"

The cave was extremely big and rather damp, a testament to the bear's might and size, yet that did not deter them at all.

Carefully, they walked in the dark brown cave, making sure to stay as quiet as possible by avoiding certain terrain, and especially puddles. Their entire focus was on the path ahead and on their task at hand, they even managed to filter out the sound of their own heavily beating heart. The cave felt endless, like it spanned forever yet that was simply all in their mind. It had not even been a minute since they had entered.

That was when a massive drop of water splashed on the man's face who was trailing behind, which startled him enough to snap out of focus and look up.

That was when he saw it… Something he had only seen in his nightmares…

A pair of glowing, blood-red eyes piercing through the dark and staring into his very being like a predator ready to pounce.

His eyes immediately became shaky and his legs and bladder began to fail him.

"Ah-ah… DIE! … AAAHHHHHHHH!!"

Henlo suddenly heard an ear-piercing cry enter his ears and echo throughout the entire cave.

"IDIOT! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!? I TOLD YOU T-" His words were cut off short as he turned around to a horrible sight… A sight that filled him with more dread than he could ever remember, as his heart immediately sank down to his stomach.

There, he saw the corpse of his ally, his body slightly dried up, a puddle of blood underneath him extending up to his lifeless eyes and neck that had a clear bite mark. At a simple glance, he knew what it was, but by that time, it was far too late… his slight hesitation and unexpected shock led to his inevitable demise.

*Sqrinsh*

Abruptly, a sudden pain emerged from his stomach, a numb feeling that only sunk in once he looked down to see a bloody blade thrust right through him.

"V-vampire…"

The blade felt like it was stuck in his abdomen forever, the pain was absolutely unbelievable. Yet, he still refused to give up after he had gotten this far. If he did, what kind of father would he be?

[Ki Arts: Sunlight Slash!]

With all the energy he could muster, he pulled out his sword from its scabbard and it immediately lit up in a flame-like light.

"NOW YOU DIE MONSTER!" He yelled a demonic shriek of anger and determination before his happiness was immediately crushed by another, even brighter light.

Ahead of him emerged a small, flying and glowing figure that exploded into a massive blast of light right in front of his eyes, essentially blinding him.

"AHHHHH! MY EYES!!" He yelled out in agony, his hands tightly holding his burning eyes as he threw up buckets of blood on the ground from the sword still stuck in his stomach.

"That was some move you got there… It's quite interesting indeed… I've never seen anything like it... Care to explain it to me? What was it?" The vampire finally spoke, his voice as cold and distant as ever as he pulled his blade out of his opponent's body, watching as he dropped to the ground screaming in agony, heavily breathing.

"You monster! *Cough* Stay away from me! Stay away!"

"Hmm? Where did all of that confidence go? What's going on?"

"If you have any shred of humanity left in you p-please let me go… I promise to never do this again… I have a family waiting for me at home… My daughter needs me…"

"Hmmm?" The vampire seemed quite perplexed. "That's quite shameless of you… I'm not sure you understand what's happening… You were the ones that walked into my domain uninvited are you not? If I were the one in your position, would you have let me go if I begged and pleaded? Would you have turned a blind eye and looked the other way? I don't think so… You would have captured me alive or sold me for a bargain all to save your precious little daughter, am I wrong? If so, then please enlighten me... Who here is the real monster?"

That was when Henlo truly broke, as he began to cry tears of blood and softly laugh at himself.

"Hey! Don't cry! At least you're being honest with me. Look on the bright side. I left you alive because I knew you would be useful to me unlike that sorry dead corpse in the back. I'll cut you a deal! You work with me for a bit, and I'll let you go free! What do you say?"

"Heh heh heh… Liar… You're lying… I know a lie when I hear one… I won't tell you shit! I know I'm dead, but I won't sell out everyone else along with me!"

"Hmmm, so be it. I honestly expected that answer. People in this world truly are built different. But, that still doesn't change the outcome… Luck!"

"Yes my lord?"

"Can you heal his eyes for me?"

"Yes! Certainly!"

That was when Henlo experienced the only sort of relief he felt for seemingly the longest time. Shards and sprinkles of pure bliss fell on his face and completely healed his previously blinded eyes, allowing him to see once more. But, when he instinctively opened them, he wished he had still been blinded…

There, for the first time, he saw the vampire's shining, fierce red eyes that stared deep into his soul with a brilliant and deadly glint. It was like true horror incarnate, yet he could not help but feel oddly lost in their eternal abyss with trembling eyes.

"So, care to tell me all you know and cooperate old friend?" He spoke with an odd smile that was seen from Luck's ambient light.

"Yeah, that won't be really a problem, what do you need to know and want me to do? *cough* *cough* But first, I might need some healing…"

The vampire's smile grew even wider seeing what just transpired in front of him.

"That would be no problem… Friend…"