A flash of lightning struck the air, lighting up the skies. Thunder blasted through the clouds, and all of a sudden, we weren’t flying, but falling.
I grabbed tightly onto Freya and swirled around, seating myself behind the Dragon’s neck and letting the elf sit behind me. The Dragon quickly stabilized our flight, with his wings fully expanded and his body hovering in the air.
Are you okay?!
“I am fine.” Acnologia nodded. “That lightning strike hit too close to us. Nearly struck my limbs.”
Ah, that’s what it was
“I am sorry, I seem to have interrupted a good moment.”
Eh? I asked. What good—
Red flowed into my cheeks. Oh.
“Ahhhh. Youth is wonderful,” Nyx chuckled.
Shut up. I turned around, my eyes pinned to the skies behind the elf.
“Awww, you can’t even look at her.”
Nyx. Shut up, or I’ll show what the Phantom Lord can do to spirits
“I’m sorry. Please don’t do anything to me.”
“Are you…okay?” Freya touched my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I said. “Acnologia nearly got hit by that lightning strike.”
“I figured,” she said. “We really shouldn’t be flying up that high.”
I nodded.
“But it was totally worth it,” Nyx said, mimicking my voice.
I clenched my fists. I really will do it you know.
“Okay, okay,” he said. “Stop acting like a lovestruck teenager.”
No one’s lovestruck!
“Yup. Definitely. I believe you one-hundred percent.”
I rolled my eyes. You’re never going to listen to me.
“It’s a wonder it took you so long to figure that out.”
A wide forest of dark green emerged before us, expanding till the horizon, and probably even further.
“Is that the Viridian Forest?” Freya’s voice jumped.
“Yeah,” I said. “I didn’t think we’d get here so quickly.”
“Well, I flew pretty fast,” Acnologia said.
How much longer do you think we have left?
“About two hours.”
The trees ruffled as we flew close above them, with the dragon’s tailwind picking up dry leaves and twigs. I gazed at the dense canopy. I had many conflicted feelings about this place. This was where I’d first woken up when I arrived in this world. It was where I’d been killed for the first time. It was where I’d lived for two months when Ijyela had been gracious enough to host me at her place.
I stared at the trees. Where is her place inside this anyway?
“I think it’s a lot further in,” Nyx said.
Yeah, I remember it that way too.
“Do you think there are still all those wolves in there?” Freya grinned widely.
“Okay, that was a really, really long time ago, and they were actually pretty scary.”
She laughed. “That’s adorable. I’m sure your enemies would love to hear the story of the Phantom Lord and the wolf pack that chased him.”
I sighed.
“What is this story?” Acnologia asked. “It seems most intriguing.”
Shut up. I rolled my eyes.
The Dragon chuckled. “Still intriguing.”
“Hey, Zoran,” Nyx said. “Don’t you think it’s odd that not a single one of those energy signatures showed up inside the Viridian forest?”
I frowned. Is it?
“I mean, the place is huge, and not a single signature was found in here. It could be a coincidence, or it could be something else.”
What do you mean something else? I blinked. Are you suggesting there’s a requirement for where the energy signatures should show up?
“It’s possible,” the spirit said.
“Either way, I believe that is not something we can investigate now,” Acnologia said.
I nodded. We’re going to have to wait until we get to this place to see what all of this is about.
We flew for an hour more before we left the vast forest behind us. By then my nerves had cooled, and my face so much more. That was crazy back there, I thought, actually processing everything that had happened.
“See, now this is why I said youth is wonderful,” Nyx started again.
I sighed. Please stop.
And this time the spirit listened.
I didn’t delve into my thoughts too much, and let them all wither away. Now wasn’t the time for emotions.
Dark lands spanned the surface before us, and a dusty, chilly wind hit my face as we flew low in the skies. There wasn’t much vegetation over the ground, albeit for a few shrubs and small plants. No overbearing trees, and definitely no colorful flowers.
That’s how one knew they were in Dark Alliance territory–there were no colors anymore.
To be honest, I’d probably prefer something like this.
“I didn’t realize how much this place looked like the Hexel Ruins,” Freya said.
“I was thinking the same thing,” I said. “It’s almost like this place is Hexel Ruins 2.0.”
“And if you think about it, they also had the exact same villains.”
I chuckled. “Yeah.”
“Was that a Dark Lord joke?” Nyx asked. “Are we making jokes with him now?”
Okay, why are you so hyperactive? I sighed. I know you talk a lot, but this is kind of pushing it a bit, don’t you think?
“Fineee,” the spirit said.
But he probably wasn’t going to quieten down that easily anyway.
A clap of thunder struck the skies high above us, and sparks of light shone between the dark clouds. There was a storm descending, and pretty soon at that.
Does rain affect our abilities?
“Well, I’d assume a fire-breathing Dragon would not want to get wet,” Nyx said.
“On the contrary, I am fine with the rain,” Acnologia said. “There’s not much that can put out a Dragon’s fire anyway.”
“Okay that’s actually terrifying.”
DING!
A screen popped up. It was a message from the Death Lord.
Diablo, I’m close to the energy signature I am after. I will update you on status in a few minutes.
He’s already at his location? I blinked. How?
“Well, he wasn’t the one holding hands within the clouds,” Nyx said.
Oh my god, that was like a minute. Stop bringing that up all the time, would you?
“Note to self: Diablo is weak to teasing.”
I rolled my eyes, ignoring the spirit. Acnologia, how much further?
“Five minutes,” the Dragon said. “We’re almost there.”
We are? I blinked, leaning forward.
“What?” Freya asked, completely unaware of the whole conversation that had just taken place.
“Acnologia said we’re close to the signature,” I said. “But I can’t see anything.”
“Did you expect a big structure?” she asked.
“Oh. Found it.” I pointed to the slowly emerging shadow on the horizon.
“Is that a…village?”
I nodded. “Seems like it.”
“Inhabited?”
“No idea,” I said. Nyx?
“Can’t tell,” he said. “Either way you shouldn’t have a problem. It doesn’t look too fancy.”
Well, Ikarius doesn’t look too fancy either but it’s survived two attacks from the Dark Alliance already. I smirked. Oh wait. Probably a lot more than that.
“Okay, Ikarius is a special case.”
We quickly came up to the village, and by then Acnologia had risen high up into the air again. Tiny villagers strode through the streets, and their probably noisy chatter echoed up to me as soft mumbling.
“Well, let’s light this up place then.” I tilted my body and dropped from the Dragon.
I plunged to the ground, straight to the center of the village. The air howled in my ears, and the gusts pushed up against me as I headed to the surface
. I pulled in my arms and legs, streamlining my body, and speeding up my fall.
The ground rushed up to me, and stone tiles surfaces appeared in my vision. The villagers all looked up, and everyone ran away from the center.
All clear. I grinned, and dropped down to the village.
A crack sounded, like thunder had struck the ground, and the tiles beneath me shattered on impact. A gentle shockwave pushed out, ruffling the structures around me, but not taking any of them down.
The dust cleared up quickly, and about fifty ruggedly dressed villagers emerged from it, with grime covering their faces and soot plastered on their hands.
“Hey there.” I grinned. “I trust you guys don't want to die?”
***
CHAPTER SEVEN
Men and women gaped at me, their eyes wide, voices silenced, and bodies trembling. A young man screamed out and ran through the streets, disappearing from sight. The others followed suit quickly, scampering away like ants from water. A hundred villagers had stood around me twenty seconds ago, and now there were none.
I frowned. That was fast.
“Well,” Nyx said. “People tend to run away like that when you ask them whether they want to die.”
Yeah. I chuckled. I scared them good.
“Your humor is turning darker day by day.”
I rolled my eyes. Please, this was the best way to get rid of everyone.
The Dragon descended to the center a few seconds later, the elf on his back. “Well, that was a hell of a drop, I’ll tell you that,” Freya chuckled. She gazed around. “How did you get rid of the villagers so easily?”
“I asked them,” I smiled.
She arched an eyebrow but said nothing. She spent a few more seconds looking at the village. “So, do we have to search through this place?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Shouldn’t take us too long.”
She nodded, jumping off the Dragon.
I pointed to my left. “You take that side?”
“Got it,” she said. “What am I looking for?”
“The energy signature,” I said. “As long as it hasn’t disappeared or diminished, we should be able to trace it given we’re at such a close distance from it.”
“Ah, okay.”
The two of us ran away, into the empty village streets. I gazed through the house windows, at the desolate rooms inside.
“What do you wish for me to do, Diablo?” Acnologia spoke.
Well, if you could get through the streets I would ask you to help with searching too.
“I am far too large to fit in these pathways without breaking apart a few things.”
Exactly. I opened a door and shut it close when I saw just darkness and cobwebs inside. Do you think you could try scoping out the presence from where you are? You’ve got a stronger mental capacity than I have.
“Used to. You are stronger now that you broke through four of your five seals. But very well, I will try what I can.”
Thanks. I ran further away, concentrating on my mind and searching through what was around me. I couldn’t feel any presence here, neither alive or dead, and that was worrisome.
“Looks like all the villagers fled the village,” Nyx said.
I didn’t think they’d go that far. It’s only been a few minutes since I got here.
“Again, you realize you threatened to kill them, right?”
I know, I know. Don’t make it sound like I make death threats all the time.
He chuckled. “Yeah, you don’t do that.”
Whaaat? I looked through the windows of another house and found nothing inside. I don’t go around telling everyone I’ll kill them, okay?
“Sure, you don’t.”
I sighed. I gazed around, making a mental image of all the houses I had already visited in the village. There weren’t that many, and I was going through them fast. Only another twenty were on my side, and I rushed by them all.
Each one, however, was the same as the others—dark, empty, and without a hint of a presence inside them.
Maybe Freya had better luck. I made my way back to the village center, and the elf was already there when I reached. “Anything?” I asked.
She shook her head. “You?”
“None.”
“I may have found something,” Acnologia said.
I looked up at the Dragon, who was standing right by us. Useful?
“It wasn’t too strong of a signal,” he said. “But I felt something underneath us, for just an instance.”
Wait, its below us?
“Indeed. There was a minute mental pressure that radiated out from beneath the ground, but it lasted just a second and was gone before I could focus on it anymore.”
That’s more than enough.
“Acnologia found something?” Freya asked.
I blinked. “Yeah, how did you know?”
“You two turn silent when you have your mental conversations,” she said. “Also, you’re smiling.”
“Oh.” I let the curl on my face drop. “And yeah, we did find something. Well, Acnologia did. He sensed the presence underneath us.”
“Underneath?” She frowned. “I did not expect that.”
“Neither had I. We’re going to have to go down there now.”
“Where?”
“Step back.”
The elf blinked, and then did as I asked, stepping out of the village square and into the nearest street, with the Dragon trying his best to fit into them as well.
“What are you going to do?” Nyx asked.
I grinned and stepped back, into the center of the village.
“Oh,” the spirit said.
Yep.
I leapt up into the air and came down hard, with my hand pulled back and ready to strike.
“Meteor Fist!” I smashed my fist down onto the surface.
The ground cracked, and a fissure ran through the stone-tiles. A shock waves pulsed from the impact point, shattering the nearest ring of houses and heading further into the village. Tremors consumed the ground I was on, and the fissures grew larger and more numerous with each one.
In seconds, the center of the village collapsed, as the tiles cracked and fell through. I leapt back, and slid to where Acnologia stood. More and more tiles shattered, falling apart quickly. A large circular section of the village—about thirty yards in diameter—had disappeared, and was now filled by whatever this thing underneath it was.
I stepped forward and peered over. A dusty breeze blew up, through my hair, and my eyes caught the darkness underneath as it swirled inside the pits. I activated my Night Vision skill, and made out a small slope of mud underneath, much deeper in.
“A tunnel,” I whispered.
Freya stood beside me, and peered over as well. “I certainly hadn’t expected that.”
“I know. How neat is it that we found that?”
“You also took out like twenty houses.”
“Well, they can rebuild them again,” I said. “We’ll help them if they can’t.”
“If they come back,” she sighed.
I turned my attention back to the pit before me. The muddy slope lowered from the other edge of the circle and disappeared far below. I closed my eyes and focused, but no mental pressures came at me. Whatever Acnologia had felt, I couldn’t.
“So, are we going?” Freya asked.
“Yeah. I don’t see another choice right now.”
“I will not fit in there, Diablo,” Acnologia said.
I know. Stay here on the surface and keep guard. We never know when the Dark Alliance might come to this place.
“Especially since you just frightened like a hundred villagers away,” Nyx said.
Okay, okay, I’m sorry about that.
“That sounds like a good plan,” the Dragon said. “I will alert you if I see anything.”
Yeah, and if you need to fly away from something, do it. We’ll find a way to get back to you if that happens.
“Understood.”
I stepped forward and looked into the pit. “Ready?”
She nodded.
I made a small leap, and descended into the pit. I the fall wasn’t too long, and I dropped softly onto the ground, with the sandy surface cushioning my fall. The elf fell next to me, spraying sand into my face. I brushed it away without a word and looked around, with my Night Vision skill still active.
The ground sloped further down, and a large entrance stood before us, probably leading into another tunnel. I stepped forward, and pressed down on different patches of the ground with my soles, making sure it was stable.
“Come on,” I said, moving on.
The elf followed me, and our footsteps were just hoarse whispers in the darkness. “Should I use my Light Arts to summon that ball of light?” Freya asked.
I shook my head. “That’ll just act as a beacon for the enemy.”
“If there even is an enemy in here,” Nyx said.
I stepped forward. I guess we’ll find out.
A gentle wind flew out, carrying dust and mud along with it. I put my hand to the air, shielding my eyes from the debris.
Why is there a wind channel in here? I blinked. Is there another opening in the tunnel?
“I guess we’ll find out,” the spirit chuckled.
Stop copying me.
I strode in, with the elf right behind me. My Night Vision skill wasn’t as useful as I’d expected it to be. A haze of shadows sifted in front of us, and I blinked, trying to get back the sharp, clear vision that I’d expected to see.
“This place is too dark,” Nyx said.
Yeah, I said, scoping the surfaces around me. The tunnel itself was more than twenty yards wide. It was surprising that this big a cavity had sat under the village and hadn’t caused any knee-jerk type collapses yet.
A faint howl echoed through the walls. I peered through, trying to make out what was in the darkness, but it was just more black.
“That can’t be good,” Nyx said.
My hand hovered over Dawnbreaker as we moved in. The elf followed quietly at my side, glancing at the walls. I took a quick look behind us, at the speck of light fifty yards away. We weren’t that far from the entrance, and yet it still felt like we’d come quite a way.
The tunnel sloped downwards yet again, and the darkness thickened. As if that was even possible, I grunted.
The Eternal: Hellbringer - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 5) Page 6