Chapter 496: 496. Echoes and Red
The narrow cave path wound deeper into the earth, its damp walls glistening faintly. Strange creatures clung to the rock—snails the size of small children, their shells emitting a soft, eerie glow. The faint light attracted swarms of insects, each no bigger than a finger, that buzzed restlessly around them like living sparks in the darkness.
Lanny pressed herself tightly against Myrtle’s arm, practically clinging to her side. "Ugh... so many bugs," she muttered, her masked face turning away in disgust.
Mana’s voice cut through the cave’s echoes, "If you’re this afraid, you could have stayed at the inn."
"No!" Lanny shook her head quickly, her eyes shifting nervously beneath her mask. "I don’t want to stay alone."
Before anyone could reply, Myrtle’s Body let out a low glow. The light seemed to draw the insects closer, their wings humming as they circled her.
Lanny immediately abandoned Myrtle and shuffled toward Zuzia. "Please," she pleaded, "stop glowing. You’re making it worse."
"Ah... sorry." Myrtle tilted her head, her tone full of apology. "It’s just so dark down here. I didn’t control it fully."
Zuzia chuckled softly, brushing a strand of hair away from her cheek. "If it’s light you want, I can glow far brighter. All I need is to shift into my true Dragonion form, my wings glows like lava."
Lanny threw up her hands in exasperation. "Can you people please stop glowing?" she sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
Despite the bickering, the group pressed forward until the tunnel opened into a vast chamber. Torches lined the rocky walls, illuminating a bustling mining area. Dozens of Dragonions worked tirelessly, their claws striking stone and hauling minerals into carts. The sound of pickaxes and grinding stone echoed through the cavern, blending with the faint dripping of underground water.
One Dragonion, broad-shouldered with scales dull from years of labor, stepped forward. His posture made it clear he was a supervisor. "This area is off-limits," he said, his voice rough but firm. "The mine belongs solely to the Silver Mace Traders."
Tyler stepped forward, casual yet composed. He slipped a bundle of Lydia notes from his coat and offered them discreetly. "Where can we find the right people to.....?"
He then lowered his voice and said.
The supervisor’s stern expression softened. He quickly pocketed the money and leaned closer. "Two levels deeper," he murmured. "You’ll find other members of the Silver Mace Traders there. Tell them Charl recommended you."
Tyler gave a respectful bow. "Thank you." He gestured for the girls to follow and started toward the path leading deeper underground.
Charl called after them, lowering his voice but loud enough to carry. "One more thing —avoid the Deep Valley Poison Sect if you value your lives."
Tyler raised a hand in acknowledgment without turning back.
Charl exhaled in relief, only to freeze when he noticed several miners standing behind him with wide grins.
"Hehehe... looks like tonight’s drinks are on the supervisor," one of them whispered.
"Hahaha! Supervisor Charl is the best!" another cheered, loud enough for the whole chamber to hear.
Charl’s face turned red. "Don’t decide for yourselves, idiots!" he barked, his voice booming through the cavern.
The workers only laughed harder, their pickaxes ringing merrily against the stone.
---
Tyler and the girls descended a staircase carved directly into the stone, their footsteps echoing faintly in the chill air. The air grew heavier the deeper they went, each breath tinged with the metallic tang of ore and damp earth. Mana floated effortlessly at their side, her form half-phased into the wall as if the stone itself held no meaning to her existence.
At the bottom of the steps, the tunnel branched off into several directions. Caves opened like the mouths of slumbering beasts, each one leading into shadow.
"Looks like we need to find the way down to the next level," Tyler muttered, scanning the passages with narrowed eyes.
"Leave that to Mana," the ghostly girl chimed. Without hesitation, she slipped through the nearest wall as though it were air, her presence vanishing into silence.
The others waited, the sound of dripping water the only company. After a few long minutes, Mana reappeared, phasing back into sight. Her expression was calm, but her words were laced with her usual childlike illeism.
"Mana found it... Actually, there are many ways that lead down. But Mana is not sure if all will take us to the right level... or if they go even deeper."
Tyler raised a brow. "So some paths could drop us into the wrong place entirely."
Mana tilted her head. "Yes. Also, some passages have workers."
"That’s not a bad thing," Myrtle offered. "We could ask the workers which way is safest. Surely someone knows the proper route."
Mana shook her head gently, her hair drifting as if moved by an unseen current. "They are from Deep Valley Poison Sect."
The mood immediately shifted. Myrtle’s optimism dimmed. Tyler’s jaw tightened.
"In that case, we avoid them," Tyler said firmly. "We’re not here to stir trouble unless absolutely necessary."
Just as he was about to suggest a careful detour, Zuzia suddenly perked up, her nostrils flaring. "Oh... this one smells tasty." Her lips curved into a grin before anyone could stop her. With a flick of her black tail, she darted down one of the darker passages.
"Zuzia!" Tyler’s voice echoed after her. He rubbed his forehead with a sigh. "I have a feeling we’re about to get into some sort of mess."
Mana floated closer, her tone unusually reassuring. "This passage doesn’t have anyone. Mana checked."
"Fine. We’ll follow her," Tyler decided. He refrained from unleashing the full might of his divine sense, keeping it restrained to the Seeker realm. Using more would have been overkill— and would have drawn unwanted attention.
The path narrowed as they went deeper, the darkness pressing against them like a living thing. Even the faint glow of the snails from the upper tunnels was gone. Tyler could feel the weight of the land above, silent and oppressive.
Eventually, the narrow corridor widened into a chamber. The ground here bore strange patterns, as though the stone had been carved into swirling, curving designs. The floor undulated faintly, like the frozen ripples of some ancient current.
"It looks like a mining area," Tyler observed, crouching to run a scaled hand across the uneven rock. "But it doesn’t seem like anyone mined here seriously."
They pressed on. The chamber gave way to a spacious hallway, its walls riddled with square openings. Some of these niches were empty, while others held stone caskets pushed halfway out, as though someone had dragged them but never finished the task.
Myrtle’s eyes narrowed. "Caskets were stored here, but most have already been removed... or stolen. Robbed graves, maybe."
Lanny stayed close to Zuzia, her usual bravado dampened by the unsettling atmosphere. Every few steps she looked over her shoulder, her masked face turning sharply at phantom noises only she seemed to hear.
Zuzia, however, seemed unconcerned. She sniffed the air, her eyes glittering with curiosity. "But where’s that smell coming from? It was strong a moment ago..."
Before anyone could answer, Lanny froze. A cold sensation trickled onto her shoulder—like a drop of water. She jerked her head up, but all she saw was endless darkness above, even with her sharpened eyesight. Slowly, she glanced down.
On the stone floor lay a single droplet of liquid, crimson red, bubbling faintly. The stone hissed as it melted away under the substance.
"Look at this..." Lanny whispered, stepping back.
"Eugh. It smells awful," Zuzia muttered, pinching her nose.
Tyler crouched, brushing the droplet with his scaled hand. The liquid fizzed against his skin but didn’t burn through his hardened scales. His eyes sharpened.
"Acid? Blood Nitrites?" he muttered. He tilted his head upward, but when he extended his divine sense, something blocked it, like a wall of iron refusing to yield.
"Mana," he said calmly, "go check what’s above us. Carefully."
Mana nodded, her figure shimmering as she rose soundlessly into the gloom. Tyler trusted her ability to phase through danger —it was safer than sending himself.
Moments after she disappeared into the darkness, Zuzia stiffened. Her pupils narrowed. "Did you hear that?"
Tyler turned to her sharply. "You heard it too?"
"Hear what?" Lanny asked nervously, her voice high.
"An echo," Tyler said grimly. "Something is above us."
The sound reached them again —a faint rumble that reverberated through the stone. Then came the distinct, chittering hiss of something alive.
Everyone’s gaze snapped upward.
Two crimson lights appeared above, piercing the dark like watchful eyes. Then two more. Then four. Then eight.
Within seconds, the ceiling bloomed with red glimmers, until more than five hundred pairs of eyes shone down upon them. Each eye gleamed like a blood jewel, reflecting hunger and malice.
The ground trembled as the unseen creatures shifted above, their bodies scraping the stone. Droplets of acid rained down, sizzling wherever they landed. The faint smell of decay filled the chamber, clawing at their throats.