Chapter 56: Alchemy?

Jay woke up as dawn broke, preparing to save Behemoth. He quickly washed his face and gargled some water. Wrapping his skeletal arm with his scrapped clothes, he put on his new leather coat. Myra was already up, and she was combing her hair. "This is much better than using my tongue!" she exclaimed, running her hands through her smooth black hair. "I'll get you one later, it's about time for us to go," Jay said, preparing to leave. Standing up, the nightgown that Myra was wearing shapeshifted into her usual black dress and veil. They didn't have much belongings, so packing up was an easy task.

Leaving the room together, they came across the woman at the counter, who was tidying up the lobby. Seeing Jay and Myra, the woman's face turned beat red as she avoided all eye contact. Exiting the inn, the sky still wasn't lit up completely, and it was also quite foggy. Although it was still very early in the morning, the streets was still littered with people, some shop owners preparing to open their shops, some adventures preparing for hunting, some merchants buying goods. Looking around, Jay said, "Let's go." They headed towards the large fortress where Behemoth was supposed to be.

They slipped into the thick fog, Shadow Sneaking through the streets. When they got near the fortress, Myra deactivated Shadow Sneak. Phasing out, Jay and Myra stood still next to the firm looking walls. Controlling his breathing, Jay got rid of the dizziness that was accompanied right after phasing out. Establishing a mental link, Jay asked both Myra and Malum, "Any plans?" "I could feel an array suppressing my mana," Malum replied first. Due to his powerful perception abilities of both mana and life force, he quickly noticed the abnormality. "He's right, I could feel a slight disturbance when we were phasing out of the shadow realm," said Myra, agreeing with Malum. "The array should affect all the guards too right?" Jay asked, trying to come up with a plan. "I'm not sure, perhaps they have some way of circumventing the array," Malum replied, analyzing the array. "I guess we should just try to head in," Jay said, looking at Myra.

"Can you still activate Shadow Sneak?" asked Jay. "Yes, but it would cost much more time and mana," replied Myra, conjuring some mana in her hands. Jay also tried to conjure some mana, feeling some resistance he needed to put in much more effort. He successfully conjured a small Feather of Curses, but it was weak and unstable. The feathers that he kept on his back were unaffected, so he still had a trump card. "Take us inside," said Jay, preparing to fight. Phasing right through the walls, Myra brought Jay inside the fortress.

Once they passed through the walls, Myra immediately deactivated Shadow Sneak. Looking at Myra, who was breathing heavily, Jay knew that casting Shadow Sneak under such conditions took a lot of concentration. He had never seen Myra like this even after Shadow Sneaking for minutes and constantly casting spells. "Are you alright?" asked Jay, looking at Myra. Taking a deep breath, Myra said, "I'm fine, we should move on." "The prisoners should be locked up inside the dungeon, so we should find a way to get down there," Malum suggested. They quickly walked down the corridor, carefully adjusting their steps to make no noises. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard from the other side of the hallway, heading towards their direction. "Let's go this way," Jay said telepathically, heading the other way.

Soon, they came to the end of the hallway, Jay turned around the corner, hoping to find the stairway down. But he was met by a cold heartless brickwall, realizing they came to a dead end, Jay sighed. "I guess we will have to knock out some people after all," Jay said. Waiting around the corner, Jay shapeshifted his right hand into a blunt stick. The footsteps became louder and louder, marking the arrival of the guard. "Soldier graded, easy knockout," said Malum, feeling the target's power. Once the guard came around the corner, he was shocked by two foreign beings, a veiled woman and a man in a weird mask. "Clank!" a small sound could be heard, followed by a thud. "One hit K.O.!" fist pumped Jay, looking at the guard that he knocked out stone cold. The two quickly walked down the hallway, searching for the staircase down.

Finally, after turning their third corner, the found the creepy stairway that would bring them to the dark dungeons. The walls were damp and cold, covered with slimy green moss. As the two walked down the stairs, their footsteps echoed through the staircase. Sounds of prisoners moans of agony and starvation echoed against the stone cold walls. Walking through the dungeon, Jay was on the look out for a certain bull. He wanted to just shout out Behemoth's name loudly, but he was cautious of more guards. Looking through the rusty bars of cells, Jay inspected the prisoners from a distance. Their life force and mana were all dwindling down, like a candle that is on it's last minute. Their auras were weakened, but Jay could feel that a good portion of them were perhaps lieutenant-graded or stronger.

Heading deeper into the dungeon, Jay could feel some sort of invisible pressure. "Welcome to the dungeon," a raspy voice could be heard. Searching for the source of the voice, Jay saw a old man in a robe. He was sitting legs crossed, eyes closed. "He doesn't have a life force, and his mana is circulating in a fixed circuit, it's just like the young boy we saw yesterday," said Malum, bewildered by the weird feelings the old man caused. "Homunculus?" Jay said, looking at the old man. Raising an eyebrow, the man laughed. "I was very close," he said. "Have you seen a large bull be brought inside?" said Jay, asking the old man. "The Ethiopian Bull?" asked the old man. "Yes, where is it?" asked Jay. "You know, I've been locked up in this tiny cell for about a decade now, I am getting kind of sick of this place," the man said, ignoring Jay's question. "Where is the bull?" Jay asked again, forcefully calming himself down. Myra stared at the old man coldly, observing his every move. "Oh yeah, you were looking for someone. Well I guess I could show you where it is," said the old man, standing up. Now that he stood up, Jay could see the chains that were locked around his wrist and ankles.

Seeing Jay staring at the chains, the man laughed. "Top quality uru metal, this stuff is really powerful, it can chain almost everything and is nearly unbreakable, can also block most magic attacks, " said the old man, showing off the shackles. "Then how are you going to show me where the bull is if that is unbreakable," Jay said, as time was slowly ticking. "Be patient, I am thirsty, give me some water," said the old man. "Water Veil," Jay casted, allowing a tiny stream of water flow into the cell. Once the small stream of water reached the old man, he poked his finger into the small puddle that formed. Instantly, the water turned golden, gaining a metalic shine. The gold metal crept onto the shackles, covering it. Snapping his fingers, a slight click could be heard.

The shackles turned into golden dust as it was shattered into millions of tiny dust particles. "Well, that was a waste of some very good materials," the old man said. "Alchemy!" Malum exclaimed, observing the old man. Stretching, the old man said, "Finally, I wonder where most of my experiments are?" He walked towards the glistening bars that trapped him inside the cell. "No mana enhancing the bars? I've really been belittled," the old man sighed. Once his hands touched the bars, they began to rust at a shocking speed. Softly pushing the bars, they fell down easily. "Thank you for your help young man, those shackles were slightly disturbing me," the old man said, walking towards the deeper parts of the dungeon. "The bull that you were looking for should be down this way," he added, as he stretched his fingers.