Underground Cave

"Ugh, the same thing happened when I killed one of these creatures before." -Viscount Jackson took out a white handkerchief and wiped his blade clean, before sheathing it into the scabbard.

"There's actually a self-disintegration phenomenon when it dies. How... unusual." -Commented Murphy, earning mutters and gasps from the other acolytes. Everyone was quite surprised. This phenomenon did not correspond to the laws of nature.

Looking at the skeleton that was still emitting white smoke, Leylin watched with a calculating look as Murphy picked one of the bones up.

The dried white bone was littered with cracks. It felt like any slight press would cause it to crumble. Leylin exerted a little more force, and with a hissing sound, the dried bone turned into fine powder.

[Doctor, my readings how a rapid increase of the unknown noble gas in the air. The majority of the element is localized towards the remains of the lizard.] -Aralis' notice sounded out.

"Something's off..." -Murphy's brows creased. He discovered some fine threads of veins within the white bone powder.

He hurriedly flung the powdery substance and began radiating internal energy particles from within his hands to cleanse them.

"What's wrong?" -Leylin chimed in, pretending to be surprised.

"Be careful of those bones, there's something inside them and it's not good!" -Murphys's brows furrowed even more and he speedily distanced himself from the decaying corpse.

At that moment, more red blood veins appeared on the desiccated lizard's skeleton. It began to exhibit innumerable puncture holes. It seemed like the veins were previously residing within the bones.

'Interesting. The fight isn't over.' -Leylin instantly realized what was going to happen. He dismounted from his horse and moved to stand behind the group once again. Murphy followed quickly in tow and took cover behind a tree next to him. The others were too busy staring at the revolving red streaks on the bones.

Countless more liquid veins took shape outside the skeleton, intertwining like the branches of a tree and started transforming into a small-sized creature. It was rather similar to the creature before, but now its body was blood red. From time to time, red tendrils popped out of it. The creature did not have eyes or a mouth. Its four legs appeared extremely sturdy, however.

The monster screeched with fury, making everyone but Leylin cover their ears. 'Let's see who will be the second casualty of the day.'

The creature was extremely fast, more so than the other. Before Viscount Jackson and the other acolytes could react, it left its original position. Only a red, blurry line could be seen.

'Smart. Instead of facing certain doom at the hands of Jackson, it fled towards its refuge where the rest of its kind will surely be laying in wait. I say smart, but it is only in comparison to the previous lizard that behaved like a hungry dog. Giving away its nest is basically doing the tedious work of searching for it all the easier for us. Aralis would've found it in moments regardless, but still. What a considerate bloody mass of tendrils.'

A person covered fully in grey robes whispered something to the Viscount before disappearing like mist. No one but Leylin saw this, as they were trying to wrap their heads about this whole resurrected lizard thing.

"Give chase! This creature definitely has something to do with the withering woods!" -Viscount Jackson promptly gave the order.

[Did you see that, Doctor? It's that guy again.] -Aralis spoke with a low tone.

'The grey-robed fellow who has always been tailing our caravan ever since we left Extreme Night City... He thought nobody could detect him, but you took care of that for me. He must be a trusted aide of the Viscount. Or an accomplice of whoever is behind this. He also has great detection abilities and is a level 2 acolyte, judging by the mana radiation waves he gives off.'

[Already on my watchlist. If he gets too close to you or starts acting suspiciously, I'll give you a heads-up.]

"Hurry! Stand with our Lord!" -Upon hearing Viscount Jackson's orders, the Black Iron Guards immediately obeyed, riding close to him and keeping him in their midst. They were all Knights, so it made sense they were here from a combat standpoint. Maybe they couldn't kill a lizard beast, but they would surely fare better than a regular human.

The acolytes lagged behind since most of them did not have great physical stats, but the grey-robed person was following the Viscount's group closely on foot, same as Leylin and Murphy.

'This geezer is a grand idiot if he thinks anyone will keep buying his excuse that he's a defenseless scholar. I left my horse behind since I move faster on my own thanks to being a Knight. But he can barely walk without a cane. Or so it seemed; now he can run at mine and the aide's pace with little trouble. We're not going full speed, but he doesn't look tired at all. He's good at acting, I'll give him that. But not that good.'

"That thing earlier, do you have any guesses as to what it was?" -Murphy asked with a fake winded voice at his friend who was slightly ahead of him.

"It seems to be some kind of parasite. According to its strength, I estimate that its parent has the strength of a level 3 acolyte… Or even that of an official Magus. We'll find out more soon enough. Oh, and don't lag too far behind." -The Farlier heir began blurring in and out of view, as he started jumping on tree branches to get an advantage on the aide, who had yet to realize he had been detected.

Murphy smiled bitterly and gulped down in fear, whereas Leylin had to suppress a laugh. He had the old man completely figured out as a mildly guileful yet cowardly scholar wannabe, and was just playing with his emotions.

"Be mindful people! We are venturing deeper into the withering zone. I can already feel the dense negative energy in the air!" -Leylin yelled. In truth, he had sensed this gloomy aura when they had first entered the woods but kept the details to himself until now.

He had a much higher-than-average perception of negative energy particles. After all, his main affinity was the Dark Element. Just like the Plant and Light affinities emphasized positive energy research, Leylin's affinities to Fire and Dark made him spend more time exposed to negative fluctuations compared to the others.

The Black Iron Guards armor clanked thunderously as the group halted when Jackson put his hand up out of the sudden.

"Damn it! I saw that red creature pausing at this spot for a moment, then it suddenly disappeared! Be on your guard!" -Jackson brandished his long sword.

The elite soldiers immediately dismounted and formed a defensive circle protecting Jackson and the acolytes within to prevent any sneak attacks.

"Undoubtedly, this should be the heart of the withering woods." -Leylin spoke firmly, as he made sure the Viscount's aide was still in the vicinity.

"The scouting method I have prepared can now be used..." -Murphy scratched his nose in an attempt to hide his discomfort. Then, he took a blackish-purple potion from his robes and emptied the contents on the ground after opening the plug.

After the black-colored potion was poured on the forest floor, the puddle turned into close to ten thousand miniature ants that scampered in all directions.

'This type of prospecting elixir can be considered to have omnidirectional coverage. It will be extremely difficult for our creature to escape.' -Leylin thought.

As anticipated, after roughly a dozen minutes, a black-colored ant appeared at Murphy's feet, crawled on his robes all the way to his ears, and appeared as if it susurrated something to him.

"It's been found! Over here!" -Murphy in turn followed his ant and led the group to a withered oak tree.

"Remove that oak tree." -Murphy pointed at the large wooden form close to them. "According to my probing, there seems to be a secret tunnel underneath it."

"First squadron, go." -Jackson signaled with his sword in the direction of the tree.

Several Black Iron Guards went forward and drove their pikes through the oak tree.

The withered oak tree did not seem capable of withstanding the assault. After being pierced multiple times by the steel lances, many pieces and chips of bark filled the air as if it were snowing.

The ten guards hurriedly moved the completely withered oak tree away revealing a dark sinister tunnel underneath.

"Here it is!" -Murphy's expression brightened, and he chanted an incantation.

The widely spread black ants returned from all directions and entered the hole.

Abruptly, Murphy's face turned paler than it ever was, and his body fell backward. He was almost fainting where he sat.

"What happened?" -Leylin appeared behind Murphy and supported his shoulder with his left hand.

"There seems to be a... greatly dangerous creature inside... It destroyed all of my precious babies!" -Murphy's countenance was very unsightly and he seemed to have developed new wrinkles all over.

'He calls those scout ants his babies? I mean, at this point it is imperative that I take his pathetic life.'

"What should we do, Lord Leylin?" -An acolyte asked in a dubitative voice, apparently wanting to leave.

"Make some torches and get rid of your spears. We won't be needing them down there where it's close quarters. You, stay sharp and only engage when I tell you to." -Leylin looked at the soldiers and then the acolytes.

"You heard him." -The Viscount encouraged, as he nodded at the Baron.

The guards quickly carried out their lord's orders. Murphy and the other acolytes looked at each other. Having no other sensible choice, they could only heed Leylin's lead.

The opening of the tunnel was rather small. A grown man needed to crouch before they could enter. However, the shaft became more spacious the deeper it went, until a number of the guards could walk standing up. Even raising the torches high did not touch the cave's ceiling.

"This is going to be quite troublesome... From the height of this cave, that parent's body will definitely not be small..." -Murphy told shakily.

"Lord Viscount! There's a fork in the passage ahead!" -A squad leader reported to Jackson.

"Let me have a look." -Jackson stepped forward.

Leylin moved close to the Viscount, trying to observe anything useful or critical to his success.

'If my instincts are correct, I'll find generous loot down here. Whether from the parent lizard, the scheming Magus, or even a safeguarded treasure, I can't tell. All I know is that whatever it may be, it is already mine and mine alone.'

As they went further down the passage, there seemed to be two perfectly similar tunnels ahead. Looking at the darkness of their unfathomable depths, one could not see the tunnel's end. It felt like walking into the huge mouth of a beast.

"The negative energy in here is becoming too dense. Some of our scouting methods cannot be used here." -The city lord's aide, the grey-robed person spoke. Everyone looked at him with puzzled expressions but did not question his presence since neither Leylin nor Jackson were startled by it.

"Call two men to reconnoiter each path ahead." -Jackson's brows furrowed as he gave the order.

"It would be better to let me do it." -Leylin interjected, as he moved in front of the group with a strong footing.

Everyone, including Murphy, thought he was being heroic and brave, and inwardly praised him for his dignity. However, he was actually trying to get the lay of the land before anyone else. If there was a hidden access or secret stash, he would get to it first and hide its existence from the group. In case he met a lizard beast, he would simply use one of his potions and hide while it tore apart the meatshields.

"Considering it is Lord Leylin that has decided to volunteer, then it is for the best." -Viscount Jackson smiled.

Leylin walked several steps and took out a transparent crystal from his robes.

"Gurisitong – Jiaonateyer." -Leylin chanted in a breathy and slightly guttural voice. A black vertical pupil suddenly appeared within the depths of the crystal. Looking at this pure black pupil made one feel as if it could tear their souls from their bodies.

"Negative Energy Eye! How could this be?!"

"Only acolytes who specialize in negative energy are able to use it!"

The Rank 0 spells of magicians who specialized in negative energy are generally more destructive and their personalities were more bloodthirsty and savage than most other Magi. This normally meant being a Dark Magi.

The acolytes behind began to whisper and the admiration that was previously contained in their gaze was now unbridled fear of Leylin. He smirked with the pleasure of knowing exactly what went through the acolytes' minds, but they didn't see that given how he had his back turned to them.

In Leylin's case, being anything but demonic was the same as a vegetarian tiger. It simply could not be. Hence, it was understandable that the other acolytes would immediately change their views on him now that a glimpse of what lay beyond the mask had permeated through.

With that said, Leylin did not have any inclinations whatsoever of explaining himself to these pieces of trash. He had... other plans for them.

Leylin's fingers exerted force and pinched the crystal to pieces. The black pupil split into two, and one floated into each tunnel.

Following the vertical pupils mentally, Leylin's closed his eyes. Viscount Jackson became rather nervous as he stared at the Baron doing his work.

Moments passed, and the party grew absolutely silent. Only the constant soft snapping noise of torches burning could be heard.

A few minutes later, Leylin opened his eyes. "On the tunnel to the left are only a few mutated lizards. At its end is a large granite rock. Dead end. As for the one on the right, I only know that it leads unknown distance downwards. My spell got destroyed after I tried probing further."

"It's the right passage then. Let's all go down together." -Jackson pointed to the tunnel on the right. He got a strange feeling that he was being scrutinized as he passed Leylin.

The right side of the cave quickly got damper and more humid. Leylin touched the mud walls and found a few moss-like plants strewn all over it dripping wet.

"I'm afraid we're getting closer to the nest of those creatures." -He declared ominously, as every other acolyte now inexplicably found his voice a lot more intimidating than before. Murphy coughed nervously a couple of times.