Ignatius-Valdis: Book 0# [Heaven's Curse]

Chapter 8

Gothalia landed on the ground then climbed to her feet. She glanced at the top of the well and regarded the distance with raised brow. It was higher than she expected even if she knew her bones and muscles could handle it before turning her attention to the corridor ahead of her.

Her eyes sharpened within the darkness, lingering behind and around her, scanning the environment for any potential danger or other exits, until she concluded there was only one way in and only one way out. Her lips thinned into a hard line as she contemplated the space and the length of her sword. It was much too narrow.

Anton and Leviathan landed behind her and without glancing back she marched ahead, her eyes making out the path. "It's dark," Anton muttered unsurprised, his voice echoing throughout the silent caves. Anton's eyes were like hers sharp in the darkness, so she didn't understand why he had to mention it. If the monster was anything like them, she knew it would have smelt him before he'd have heard him.

"Hold on," Leviathan asserted, and fire lit up the darkness, outlining the shadows that their eyes couldn't entirely make out. Gothalia paused then glanced at Leviathan behind her and regarded the small flame hovering within his open palm.

"You're a fire utiliser?" Anton asked, confused.

"He's the crown prince," Gothalia remarked. "Of course, he is." Leviathan strode past Gothalia then guided both her and Anton through the dark cavern that led deeper and deeper into the earth. Anxiety and fear churned within Gothalia and Anton as they followed, while anticipation crawled along their skin, when their eyes darted to the shadows beyond the light, their minds playing with the worst possible scenario.

"Keep an eye out for any unusual fungi or fauna. It's becoming damp." Leviathan paused and pulled out three thick clothes from his deep pockets and handed one to Gothalia and one to Anton who nodded, understanding his meaning. Quickly, they wrapped the cloths over their nose and mouth before tying it behind their heads. After that, they continued their march.

After a few minutes of walking, everyone entered an even larger cavern. "Max!" Anton called, and silence greeted him, his voice echoing in return.

"Shh!" Leviathan hushed, hurriedly causing Anton to regard him with a raised brow. "We don't know how many more of those things are down here."

"It doesn't matter. They'd already know we're here," Gothalia replied. They weren't exactly quiet and if they were like her and Anton which she knew was a high possibility, she knew they'd hear their breathing, their beating hearts the moment they entered the cave and smell the sweat permeating their skin.

"How?" Leviathan asked, confused.

"Did you see his eyes?" Anton asked. "Those red eyes are only common to Daemone and its . . . variations."

Leviathan considered his words, before moving deeper into the cave where the ground began to decline. "This just gets deeper and deeper." Gothalia acknowledged, her nose picking up on the smell of fresh water before she heard it. "Anton."

"Yeah, I hear it."

"What is it?" Leviathan asked.

"There's water not too far from here." Anton answered. "Let's get Max and get out of here. We need to find that flag. If we're lucky we can do both without much trouble."

Gothalia contemplated his words but didn't say anything and instead travelled deeper into the wide chasm. Until she was certain she'd found what they were looking for. Anton and Leviathan immediately joined her. "We're getting closer."

Gothalia's gaze narrowed on the bones and the stench of rotting flesh. Her nose too sensitive just like Anton's who couldn't stop himself from coughing. Not that she blamed him. Even Leviathan couldn't stand the smell and his nose wasn't as sensitive, but it would be bearable, if he didn't think too much about it. Gothalia scrunched her nose in disgust, and moved past the bones, flesh, rats, maggots, and anything else she smelt, spotted, or heard crawl along the corpses around them. She was careful to avoid stepping on the rotting flesh and the intense stench that'd follow if she accidentally tore them open.