16: The Abysmal Cavern

"Abysmal Cavern? What is that? Tell me! Do not leave me in the dark, will you?" Grasping the edge of the man's clothes, Kalliste shook him strongly, her face beaming with curiosity.

Seeing her reaction, Porteur could only sigh. He had a feeling that she would not leave him in peace if he did not divulge the information that he knew.

"It would be better if you saw that place with your own eyes. For now, we had to follow them to the dungeon."

This shut Kalliste up. She had no idea what kind of place the Abysmal Cavern was. However, observing the serious expression on Porteur's face, she realised it was not a normal dungeon.

"Come. Let's go," Porteur quietly said. Taking the lead, they began to run forward.

Soon enough, the two found themselves in front of the three familiar doors.

"Wait, wasn't this…" Kalliste trailed off. Her gaze jumped from one door to another.

"This way, My Lady." Porteur motioned for her to follow him, but she only crossed her arms on her chest.

"How did you know which door to open?"

Instead of answering, Porteur just shrugged his shoulders. "Just trust me, okay?"

With a tired sigh, Kalliste finally nodded. 'I am already too old for this.'

They then ambled towards the middle. A horrifying, dark aura met the two as they opened the door. The aura swiftly enveloped their bodies, and a powerful force drew them into the portal.

----------------

"Are we still inside the mansion?" Kalliste gasped in shock.

As soon as they got out of the portal, the scenery completely changed. It was nothing like she imagined. They were now inside a spacious, dark, and dreary place, where the only thing they could hear were the drops of water from the high ceilings.

She also noticed the heavy humidity in the air. She inhaled deeply; however, it was difficult to breathe.

"I would like to welcome you to the Abysmal Caverns, miss," Porteur declared with so much sarcasm. He even stretched out his hands, as if he were a local resident of the place.

"This kid. Stop fooling around!" Kalliste rolled her eyes in exasperation. She then focused her gaze on the surroundings.

"So? What seemed to be the problem here? This place looked like a normal cave to me."

"You are wrong, miss. Abysmal Caverns was one of the most dangerous dungeons in all of Celestra. Many experienced knights and powerful mages already lost their lives in this place." Expecting to see some form of emotion, Porteur sneaked a glance at the little girl beside him, but all he saw was a stoic face.

He sighed. 'Am I expecting too much?'

"Come. We still had a long way down."

Though Kalliste was hesitant, she had no choice but to acquiesce. At least for now. She quickly followed Porteur down the long, narrow, and dark corridor.

–––––––––––

"Porteur! What the heck are those things? Kyah!" Kalliste could not help but shout on top of her lungs.

The two were now running for their lives. Behind them was a horde of the undead.

"Go away! Shoo! Porteur! Do something!" She shouted as tears comically fell on her eyes.

Observing the desperate expression on her face, Porteur lets out a loud laugh before deciding to intervene. He quickly stopped and turned around. "Sword art style: level five, root!"

With a swing of his sword, Porteur's eyes suddenly turned green. It flashed brightly. In just a blink of an eye, the ground beneath them shook as huge roots suddenly emerged from the ground.

"Go!" At his command, the roots instantly enveloped all the undead that were only a few meters away from them. Porteur stretched out his hands and clenched his fists. The result? The undead snapped into pieces.

All of the bones fell to the ground, ending their reign of terror. However, as he caught his breath, Porteur began to huff.

"So, you are an elemental mage, huh? A strong one at that."

"Yes, but as you can see, my mana was barely enough for me to escape alone. I would be dead before I reached the deepest part of this dungeon," he uttered in between huffs.

Kalliste grabbed her waist and turned to face the man. Her eyebrows rose as she eyed him seriously. "You really knew this place too well, it seemed."

Taking a deep breath, Porteur gathered himself up before answering, "Indeed, my lady." He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He couldn't help it when waves of memories came back to him as he reminisced about the past that involved this place. It was a painful reminder that served as the worst turning point of his life. This event led him to abandon his role as a royal knight and opt for a career as a mercenary.

"If that's the case, then tell me. What made this place so dangerous?"

"Because this place was the lair of a powerful demon."

"A powerful demon?"

"Yes. Though no one ever lived to tell the tales, many believed that it had complete control of this place. Only the most powerful knights ventured into this dungeon because of the demon's influence. It might be asleep for now; however, it will surely awaken when it senses something worthy of awakening."

"Please tell me something like this in advance before we proceed." Though Kalliste had seen and experienced almost everything that her old world had to offer during her century-old life, she certainly did not want to encounter a demon. A real one with flesh and blood.

Porteur, on the other hand, could only snicker quietly. She was really full of surprises. Who would have thought that someone as mighty as her would be afraid of ghosts and demons?

"What is that now?" Porteur was too distracted by his thoughts to see the almost invisible arrow coming swiftly in their direction.

"Get down, you fool!"

If it were not for Kalliste dragging him down, he would have been dead already.

Porteur found himself kissing the cold and dusty ground. The force she used nearly crushed his bones.

"Ugh!" He groaned in pain. He felt as if a huge boulder had struck him.

"Were your eyes only for decorations? Stay alert!"

The girl's loud voice brought him back to reality as she yelled at him.

"Oww! My back. You could have warned me first." Instead of thanking her, Porteur retorted with sarcasm as he slowly got up.

"Shut up! Come on. We need to go."

As they descended down a gradual slope, Kalliste felt the temperature suddenly drop. The cold instantly seeped through her thin clothes, enough to make her body shiver.

'Damn it! Being a child really sucked.' At times like these, she suddenly missed her blanket. It may be old, but it kept her warm during the harsh winter. As she hugged herself, a piece of thick clothing suddenly landed on her hands.

"You should wear this. Your small body would not be able to handle the freezing cold as we moved down."

Taken aback, Kalliste stared at Porteur. He now had his sword drawn, and even though he looked calm on the outside, she knew that he had his guard up.

"Thank you, but what about you?" she enquired, noticing that he only wore a loose shirt inside his large cape.

"Do not worry, lady. I could manage."

"But…" She was about to protest when Porteur beat her to it.

"Just consider this my training. A method to improve my stamina and endurance."

Seeing the grin on Porteur's face, Kalliste could only sigh. "Alright. If you say so. Don't blame me if you die because of the cold," she joked.

Wearing the thick cape, her face instantly contorted. "Why is this too damn heavy! Was it made of gold or something? How am I supposed to run faster while wearing such heavy clothes?" Kalliste deadpanned. It was also too big for her.

"It stinked. Do I really have to wear this?" she lamented as she pinched her nose.

"Shh. We are now approaching the first level of this dungeon. Stay on your guard. Defeating the beasts here would be an easy feat, but the problem would be their numbers," Porteur declared, lowering his stance.

Hearing this, Kalliste stopped complaining, albeit hesitantly. She immediately concentrated and expanded her senses as far as she could reach.

Suddenly, a low growl filled the hall.

Narrowing her eyes, she focused on the source of the sound. They had just reached the end of the descending passage and entered an underground cave that was no larger than seventy meters. Looking around, the whole cave glowed in a dim, grey color. Up above, Kalliste saw a bunch of silver stalactites, threatening them with their sharp, gleaming tips.

Out of nowhere, dozens of beasts that looked like large bats suddenly fell from above.

Kalliste gasped in surprise, having taken a few steps backwards. She narrowed her eyes on the creatures. Each of them was almost twice her size, with small, yet muscular limbs, revealing every vein. Fully, visible bones accentuated their hollow bodies. They also had long, sharp horns, and their head resembled a skeleton. Their fangs remained hidden until they unleashed a deafening screech.

"Chiropterans! My Lady. Be careful! Those things were not strong, but they attacked in groups. Conserving the use of our mana would be the key to reaching the end of this dungeon and rescuing the prince," Porteur roared over the growling of the Chiropterans, all of whom were positioned to pounce, their patches of fur standing on end and their teeth bared.

Porteur got in front of her. "My lady. Ready yourself. I would create an opening. When that happens, we should run as fast as we could. There was no point in wasting our time here."

"Alright."

Taking a deep breath, Porteur nodded as he readied himself.

"Sword Art Style, level 4! Neurotoxins!"

Kalliste heard a yell from him. Out of nowhere, thick, green fog suddenly formed. It surrounded the beasts.

The two watched how the fog entered through their eyes and mouths. Next thing they knew, all of them gave an ear-splitting, pained screech as they fell to the ground, one by one. Their bodies became nothing but dried bones. The ones who were fortunate enough to escape tried to circle around them and attack.

"Run. Now!" At his command, they quickly run past the beast's corpse.

They did not look back as they traversed through the dark hallway. They hadn't even gone that far when Porteur suddenly stopped.

"Stop!" he roared. His loud voice echoed in the cave.

"What is it?" Kalliste asked in between huffs. Beads of sweat flew down her face as she struggled to catch her breath.

'Damn it! Do I really have to wear this thing?' She once again whined in her mind.

"Shh. Did you hear that?" Porteur whispered. His senses heightened as he carefully observed the area.

"Walk slowly." As soon as the words escaped his lips, he stepped forward. However, the gurgles and the sickening sound of crushed bones made his body freeze where he stood.

"What is happening?"

Much to their surprise and disgust, the bones that were scattered everywhere suddenly began to reanimate. It came together until the bones formed a giant chiropteran, its body snapping into place.

"Not good!" Porteur bellowed. "The King of Chiropterans!" He instinctively stepped backward.

"King of Chiropterans? What's that?"

"Defeating that thing would be easy, but the problem lies in its regeneration. I'd surely be out of mana before we could even reach the bottom of this place."

"What should we do then?"

"We run."

As soon as the Chiropteran King gave out an ear-splitting screech, Porteur screamed.

"Run!"

––––––––––

"We finally made it!" Porteur said in between huffs.

"Are we there yet? How deep was this dungeon anyway?" Kalliste complained. She knew that her young body was already reaching its limits. She would not be able to handle another running marathon, and would surely pass out in exhaustion even before they found the boy.

"There were a total of six stages in this dungeon, and we're only on the second. The young prince would surely be within the fifth or sixth stage."

"What?" Kalliste's eyes widened at what she heard. She could not believe her ears.

"Come on now. Do not be like that. We needed to rescue the prince before it was too late."

Even when she wanted to scream in frustration, Kalliste held her thoughts to herself. It was more important that they rescue the boy. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she could only glare at Porteur. 'I would deal with you the moment we got out of here.'

Porteur, on the other hand, felt a cold chill run down his spine. An ominous aura suddenly directed itself towards him. He comically froze as his body straightened. Though he knew who it belonged to, he chose to shut his mouth.

'I'm dead,' his mind screamed, yet no voice came out of his mouth.

"Come on. Let's go. The sooner we find the boy, the sooner we get out of this damn place." Without looking at Porteur, Kalliste marched forward.

Soon enough, they arrived at another dark corridor. It was wide enough for six or seven people to go through at once. Though Kalliste was now a bit more relaxed upon leaving the first cave, an uneasy feeling slowly formed in her guts.

As if to answer her questions, a barely discernible click and a faint whistle caught her attention.

"Dodge!" In a blink of an eye, she immediately drew a small dagger and sidestepped in front of Porteur.

Her dagger blurred as she effortlessly parried all of the projectiles aimed at Porteur. When it hit the ground, the sharp metal ring echoed through the dark corridor.

"Th-Thank you, My Lady," Porteur muttered mindlessly. Kalliste saw how Porteur's face paled under the feint light from the scattered crystals, especially when the sharp metal spikes that nearly claimed his life landed right beneath his feet.

"Stay alert, won't you? I won't rescue your ass again next time," Kalliste declared, kicking the deadly spikes to the side.

"Y-yeah."

When Porteur nodded, they continued to walk.

Fortunately, the two reached the end of the hall with no other surprise attack deterring them. Though the next cave was similar to the previous one, it was twice as large. However, what caught their attention was the huge hole in the middle.

"Don't get to close to that hole, miss. We do not know what kind of beast lurked at the bottom."

As if on cue, the cave suddenly trembled, shaking the sharp stalactites overhead to a nerve-wracking degree.

Screech!

A deafening screech got their attention. From the huge hole, a large figure erupted like wildfire.

"What is that now?" Kalliste enquired in a worrying tone.

The creature resembled a giant centipede. From where they stood, Kalliste saw the creature's countless rows of teeth encircling its huge mouth. With a hlance, she knew the creature could swallow them whole.

Meanwhile, Porteur scanned the creature. It was impossible to know just how long and big it was, as half of its body is still underground.

"Brace yourself for any attack, My Lady!" Porteur barked.

Just as he yelled, the creature let out another screech before releasing fiery torrents of poisonous green liquid.

"Damn it," Kalliste cursed. She barely managed to pull Porteur out of the way.

When the green liquid hit the ground, it sizzled for awhile. When the fumes dissolved, the two saw a small hole from where they previously stood.

"What in the world!" Kalliste almost chocked on her own saliva, silently thanking her battle instinct for saving her again and again.

"What should we do, My Lady?"

"Why are you asking me? You're the adult here!" She deadpanned at Porteur's stupid question.

Screech!

With another loud shrill, the giant centipede rushed forward. Without warning, it smashed its head into the ground where they stood.

"Move!" Kalliste shouted at the top of her lungs. She quickly pushed Porteur to the side; however, she had no time to dodge another incoming attack.

"No! My Lady!" Porteur's eyes widened as he watched how the giant centipede smashed upon the small body of the girl. As she tumbled a few meters away from him, his whole body froze. Just then, he felt something in him snap, especially when he saw that she was not moving at all.

"You will pay for this! Show your might, Lazarus!" Porteur's voice echoed throughout the cave as he stretched his arms upwards. Just then, a strong swirl of leaves suddenly enveloped his hands. When it dissipated, he was already gripping a sword.

The blade itself was fairly simple. No markings could be found and only an ornamented skull adorned the hilt.

"Sword Art Style, level 6! Spiritfire Wings!"

Just then, he felt massive energy suddenly erupted within him. "Urgh!" He felt an invincible force crush the bones in his back. Seconds later, two magnificent wings made of green flames erupted from his back.

Without any words, Porteur levitated as he narrowed his eyes at the creature. When he was already up high, he spread his wings. Just then, countless feathers with sharp edges appeared.

"Go!" With a flap of his wings, they attacked. The feather blades penetrated straight through the centipede's body.

The attack sent shockwaves to the beast's body, creating ripples on its stomach. However, it was not enough to even scratch its rough skin.

In return, the giant centipede flailed its body wildly, knocking away some nearby rocks.

Screech!

With another thunderous sound, the centipede shivered before unleashing a rain of poisonous acid spittle towards its opponent.

Instead of dodging, Porteur's wings went in front of him, serving as a shield.

Despite the deadly globs of light green saliva that landed on his wings, it wasn't enough to penetrate the shield.

"Sword art style level 5, root!" Porteur muttered under his breath.

Just as his eyes glowed, the ground shook violently as a large root sprung out of nowhere. It made its way towards the giant centepede, then snaked all the way up.

Screech!

The giant centipede spat acid towards the root as it squirmed violently, trying to make its way out, but to no avail.

As the giant centepede fought for its freedom, Porteur used this chance for another attack.

He quickly lounged towards the creature while green flames surrounded his sword, leaving the metal glowing a magnificent emerald.

When he was close enough, Porteur swung his blade with all his might. "Eat this!"

A grin appeared on his face as his sword finally penetrated the centipede's thick body.

"Die!" Suddenly, the green flames rapidly entered the centepede's body, burning its insides.

The creature let out another shrill screech as it once again began flailing wildly. This time, everything happened so fast that Porteur had no time to dodge. He was caught in between before he could stay away.

Before he knew it, the creature sent him flying, but was startled when the little girl suddenly jumped over him.

"Young miss!" Porteur extended his arms, in an attempt to grab the girl, but he was already too late. With his eyes widened, Porteur saw how she stabbed the centepede with his own sword.

With another pained shriek, the giant centepede finally escaped back into the hole it had emerged from.

"Miss! Are you alright?" Porteur enquired as he swiftly ran toward her.

However, before he could even say something, they heard another rumble.

Once again, the familiar howl of a boiling kettle reverberated throughout the area.

"Not good!"

"Sword art style, level 2. Living armour!" At his command, his sword encircled the two of them. With a feint glow, it suddenly changed from sword to armour and enveloped the space around them. Before they knew it, another torrent of deadly streams formed in the small space, destroying everything it touched.

Hiss.

Looking up, Porteur narrowed his eyes when they heard a loud hiss. On top of them, they saw thick smoke come out of the small crack.

Thankfully, the damage was not that large. It took awhile before the dangerous acid cooled down. Calling As he drew his weapon, the sight of utter destruction greeted them.

Everything melted upon the powerful acid shower that took place just moments ago.

"Let's be on our way, miss. I do not know if I could handle another attack of such calibre." Porteur took this opportunity to leave after noticing the giant centepede's absence.

He assumed the lead as they ran towards the exit.