The door that won't open

It was not a massacre, every death had been a gentle and swift blessing. The person was dead even before they hit the ground, a small mercy on their brain.

All 10 bodies had been killed off and disposed of in a matter of minutes. Erin and Asato had made short work of the party while Ten was left far behind where he would not see. The bodies had been burnt to give the dead party a solace.

Funeral fire was the fastest way to enter unfortunate souls into the reincarnation cycle after all and Asato was apt with fire usage.

By the time Ten was fetched by Erin, Asato had already cleaned up the place. Ten was white and looked frightened but otherwise did not look any worse than before everything started.

“Looks like you two got close” Asato commented looking at the approaching pair. Erin had an arm around Ten’s shoulder. Their facial structure and their clothes followed the same theme of black rather than his white and blue.

They looked related in a way which made a little pang in Asato’s heart which he ignored.

“Yup, we did get close a little didn’t we?” Erin asked with a grin to the boy at his side who just shook his head.

“N-no. You’re just a b-bully” Ten shrinked even more on himself, but he was not shaking this time which meant he was getting bolder now. Erin just grinned at that answer.

“Boo, you’re no fun. But good enough since the closest to me is still Asato here” Erin threw out with a grin, his finger pointing toward a stunned Asato.

That had been unexpected and it made something warm in the pit of Asato’s stomach. Was this what family was supposed to feel like? His master felt like this sometimes so maybe it was. Maybe he did consider Erin as family.

“He’s so cute and little. Still a kid in human terms too” the there was a pinch on Asato’s cheeks. It iriked his temper a little.

He’s family but I still don’t like him. He’s no friend to me and they are the same. That was the belief of his mother, one of the only memories he remembered from here. Even when her face was blurry in his mind, the words she said offhandle kept their impression on his subconscious mind.

“W-what now?” Ten asked, his shy voice bringing the conversation back to the original track. The time it took for Ten and Erin to get back had not been enough for Asato to check up on the site and to perform cleanup.

Hence, he had cleaned the site up first, making sure to check the bodies for useful items which could clue him in, but there was nothing he could use. It felt like these really were dummies instead of real people.

“Looking at it closely, the hole really is too small for one to travel. Maybe you and Ten can fit in but I surely can’t” Erin complained, but his tone did not sound too troubled. In contrast, it actually sounded amused of all things.

“I-it looks like it’s closed,” Ten stated, his eyes observing the hole closely. Hands moved toward the hole, but Erin caught them before they could make contact with the hole.

“Don’t make any obvious moments or you’ll wake the door guardians. This door is infamously called ‘The door that won't open’ because it’s too temperamental and that’s their mistake number one” Asato explained as he looked around in his bag.

“The door that won’t open? What kind of door doesn’t open?” Erin asked, moving toward the hole to observe. Asato found him to be a fool, ignoring his own advice because he thought he knew better than everyone else.

Erin was powerful but not invincible and he was going to get hurt if he did not stay back.

“E-ERIN” Ten’s voice brought Asato out of his search. Wide eyes took in the action of a teen dragging a man back just in time to not get bit.

The hole had a furry head out of it with large shining black eyes and cute features. But they were twisted with sharp teeths and blood, the mouth entirely the wrong shape. And it was wiggling to get out fast.

“I told you to stay back and not to wake them. I’ll take care of this for now but be careful in the future” Asato cried out as he drew a spray bottle out of his bag and sprayed it onto the eyes of the creature. The human sized animal shreaked before it dug back into the ground.

“What was that? Why didn’t you warn me before?” Erin asked, his breath catching back up with him due to fright. Asato wanted to roll his eyes but the situation had been too close, his heart almost in his mouth.

That might have turned out to be a political nightmare if Erin had actually died here.

“H-He did. He said there were g-guardians here” Ten consoled, one of his hands having a death grip on Erin’s T-shirt.

“Erin, dayless city, is situated underground. In the crudest comparison, it’s an underground colony with various creatures. Even I don’t know what we might encounter if we enter from here. So please be careful or there will be an irreversible incident” Asato was almost begging.

He had almost expected something to go wrong, but he had never counted on Erin to have his head cut off due to carelessness. That was the height of stupidity one could achieve and since Erin was almost family, he was not allowed to do this at all.

“So it’s like the ant colony dungeon? Got it, I'll be careful from here on out. You should tell me these things before” Erin voiced his complaint which Asato paid no attention to, his hand once again moving inside his bag for more sprays.

He took out a few bottles which he handed over to the other two.

“Pepper spray? What’s that?” Ten asked, no doubt his upbringing in the demon world showing its face in full. It made sense that he had never heard of the thing before.

“Seriously? This works? Against that monstrosity?” Erin asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice he could not mask. Despite the earlier showcase, he still was doubting it.

“It works. They’re half animals after all. Even you would be affected if I sprayed it into your eyes right here” it might not if Erin used his demon powers, but he was currently human so he was vulnerable.

As for the creatures inside, they were just mutated animals from the human world, their DNA exposed to the power of the abyss. This was what made dungeons special, an oddity in nature.

It somehow felt connected to his power, the place feeling balanced unlike anywhere in nature but balanced nonetheless.

“Right keep careful and spray when in danger since attacks might collapse the pace down. You got it Ten?” Erin asked, his grin a little shaky due to the limitations. He never did well in limited space, his style too wild and powerful for such a place.

But he would adapt for those he needed to keep safe and for the mission. Ten just nodded in agreement.

“I’ll open the path now. Proceed carefully” Asato informed as he poured a liquid down the hole. There was no sound for some time, not even of the liquid hitting the ground before it erupted.

Smoke and fire, grene in shade ble out of the hole. It twirled around and reached out to the people. Asato glanced back at Erin and Ten, the latter shaken with a look of horror on his face. Asato felt bad and with a realisation thought back at the experience of the other teen.

The horrified face made him think that fire might not have been the best choice to go with, but it was the fastest and by far the safest.

“TEN” Erin cried out just as screams erupted from the teen’s mouth, his body spamming in Erin’s hands. Asato wanted to reach out but his hand was slapped by Erin who looked equally stunned at his behaviour. It stung but before Asato could voice anything out the fire burned out with a flash of light and the ground broke below their feet.

When the light subdued, the surface was intact with the clearing no different than before. The hole looked like it had never suffered anything as a furry head and nose made itself known out of the hole.

A pair of hands landed on the furry head which purred in pleasure.

“So he’s inside right now? My puppet is doing an excellent job leading them where I want to but the other guy is going to be a problem in the long run isn’t he? I should begin separating them before it gets too late” the voice was mellow, the body it originated from young and viral.

And yet in the shade of the trees one could not make out any feature of the person, the form but a vistage of colours in the background.

Meanwhile, the tree's bodies woke up inside the tunnel, all three trying to ignore what had happened outside.

“You alright Ten?” Erin asked and it stung Asato that it had been the first words out of his mouth. After all, wasn’t Asato the first priority for him for so long.

“Y-yeah. Just startled a little by the light, brought back bad memories. A-Asato?” Ten asked, his attention focused on the person who had yet to say anything. The look on Asato’s face was blank before it went to melancholy.

“I’m sorry for the scare. I’m alright and I’ll take time to inform you next time” there was an awkward silence and Asato almost believed Erin to open his mouth to comment on things but he never did.

“Right, let’s move on. This place is not good for my heart” Erin grinned as he joked but it didn’t reach his eyes. There was a strain to it which made the mood worse between the three.

“Right. We need to go this way, the messenger will lead us there” Asato broke the stalemate with his hands holding a small frog in his hand. As soon as he let it go, it dashed forward with hops in the darkness.

The three hurried to catch up, the topic left unresolved in their midst.