Deep Prison Part 2

This place gives me a bad feeling. It isn't easy to describe it. I have a sense that this is a place that was hidden for a good reason. It's a place where people shouldn't be.

"How interesting," Hisa said.

Before choosing a path and continuing, we were getting ready, putting on more clothes since this place is quite cold. It seems that the more we descend, the colder it will get—great contrast since it was pretty hot outside, the cave being within walking distance of the beach. During this time, we were also checking our supplies. Thanks to Syvis and her advice, I won't go hungry or too cold since I have everything I need in the magic bag she gave me.

Meanwhile, a few meters away, Hisa was looking at something and sounding very intrigued, saying in surprised tone things like "WOW!" "I can't believe it!" Out of curiosity, I approached her to see what she was seeing. Shalia and Neku walked behind me too. Right in front of the path we entered on the other side of the big hole, there is a raised platform with some broken structures and some writing all around which I don't understand. When we were examining the place, I had already seen this, but I didn't pay much attention to it; quite the opposite of Hisa.

"What's that?" I asked her, curious.

"Similar structures have been found in the other temples discovered. It is believed they were used to facilitate [Zrephia's] royalty to teleport to faraway places. At least, it is what some of the few documents of those times detail."

"Tele...port!?" I said, sounding puzzled.

"You did not know?" Hisa answered, "It is believed that some of [Zrephia's] royals could use time and space magic."

"I think I had read that before, but don't you think it's a bit... you know." I said.

"Sounds a bit hard to believe, but [Zrephia's] royalty were direct descendants of the goddess [Imris]. We can't hold them to the same logic as everyone else." Hisa reply.

"It's true!" Dante said as he approached us, "Just think about it. When the princess of calamity went crazy, she single-handedly destroyed an entire city and not just any city. She destroyed what was the capital in the times when the most powerful wizards and the most legendary warriors lived. So imagine what else she was capable of. When you think about it that way, time-space magic doesn't sound that crazy."

"I guess..."

"If you still have trouble believing that, think about your magic bag," Hisa said, pointing to the magic bag that I was carrying. "How do you think that considering its not so big dimensions, you can put so many things inside? I've spent years investigating the mysteries of magic bags, and as of now, we're nowhere close to being able to recreate them."

Now that I think about it, she's right. I feel silly for never considering it.

"So you study magic bags and time-space magic!?" Shalia asked.

"Yes!" Hisa replied cheerfully, "It may sound weird but I always considered magic bags and time-space magic to be very interesting. I'm actually surprised Leona, Darx, and you have magic bags when you three haven't been adventurous for a long time. How did you do it? You must have paid a fortune."

Shalia was surprised and timidly replied, "Oh no, S-Syvis gave them to us when we studied with her at the castle."

"She did!? Wow!" Hisa said, looking surprised, "It may not seem like it, but magic bags aren't as common as they were in [Zrephia's] time. As I had already mentioned, it has yet to be discovered how to create more. However, they are an expensive luxury that is indispensable for adventurers. They are almost only achievable for adventurers in big guilds or adventurers who have saved money for many years.

Since I have a magic bag, I was never interested in knowing how rare they were or what they cost. It seems Shalia didn't know either and she's surprised. Syvis gave me the magic bag and the ring with which I can use magic without needing a staff. Two gifts of great value while I have not given her anything of even a similar cost. I need this quest to succeed so I can return even a little bit of her kindness.

"Now I feel bad because I didn't give you anything when I was also your mentor for a while," Dante added, "Well, I know that it is believed that they were created by the royals of [Zrephia] themselves, so it is possible that no one else apart from them could make them, right!?"

"It's most likely..." Hisa replied to Dante, then she turned to see me, "I have met Syvis several times. She's a summoner, and I'm a cleric, but as mages, the path to knowledge always leads to the mages of the [Zrephia] era. Despite crossing paths several times investigating [Zrephia], she always gave me the impression of having a bad temper and having this aura of, 'Don't come near me!' So I never talked with her much. I'm surprised she gave you something that expensive. It seems I was wrong about her."

Seeing people start to have a favorable opinion of Syvis always makes me happy. I know Syvis can look a little intimidating when you don't know her, but I'm sure anyone who talks with her can tell how kind she is, even if she shows her kindness a little differently than usual, "Yes, she is a great person!" I replied with a smile.

"Well, we already lost a lot of time. Let's leave history class for another day and get going." Dante spoke while clapping a few times.

However, before that, Neku, who had been silent all this time, had one more question, "You said that platforms like this had been found in the other discovered temples. You mean this is a temple, after all?" she asked, looking at Hisa.

"It is true that the same platforms have been in all the uncovered temples, but personally, I don't think they are only in sacred places." Hisa reply, "As I said, it is believed that the function of these platforms was to facilitate transport using time-space magic. If you think of it that way. They should be in more places where they needed to get to quickly."

"That makes sense," Dante added.

"However, I am concerned about the location of this place," Hisa said with a serious expression.

"Uh?" Neku exclaimed.

Hisa continued, "If we consider how the human territory used to be before the demons stole 1/3 of it. This is the farthest place from where the city of [Zrephia] used to be. If we can see that this is a labyrinth that descends into the depths of the earth in the area furthest from the old capital, it tells me that whatever is at the bottom, they wanted to keep it as far away as possible."

It was not an exaggeration to say that Hisa's words scared me. No one spoke or moved for a few seconds after hearing her. Most likely, they felt the same way I did.

"Come on. We can't waste any more time." Dante said, trying to sound confident, but his expression seemed worried.

We walked in silence to where Leona, Gerald, and Seto were. Before reaching them, I momentarily turned to the intimidating large dark hole, wondering what was waiting for us at the bottom.

"What were you doing?" Seto asked, "I'm getting cold! Let's get going to warm up."

The path we took had already been chosen. A dark path that clearly looked like it was going down. It was a narrow path that perhaps only two people could walk together.

"Leona and I will lead the way. Hisa, Shalia, and Gerald, please make sure to keep the path lit." Dante spoke.

"I can also help with the lighting," I said.

The magic of creating light is relatively easy to learn, and even a few non-adventurers can do it. Syvis teched it to me the other day, and it will be helpful to me now.

"OK!" Dante replied with a smile, "Well, remember to be vigilant at all times and not let your guard down. Also, be supportive of your teammates. If we follow those three basic rules, everything will be fine."

Dante and Leona entered the hallway. In pairs of two behind them were Neku and me, who can react quickly to a frontal attack. Followed by Shalia and Hisa, who we must keep as safe as possible since they are our healers, and at the back, Gerald and Seto. Gerald needs time to cast his magic, and the less he is interrupted, the better, while Seto can react quickly if for some reason, an enemy passes us or we are attacked from behind.

I would say that we walked for about an hour in this way without encountering any enemies. The only thing was that the corridor widened considerably, so we returned to our initial planned positions. In addition to that, as we expected, it gets colder and colder as we descend.

"Wait!"

Hisa said, at which point both Dante and Leona stopped instantly without turning to see her and instead turned more attentively towards the front.

"Enemies!?" Dante said.

Hisa has a sensory skill, so she can sense if there are enemies nearby.

"Yes, there seem to be monsters following this path ahead," Hisa answered.

"Shall we turn off the lights?" Gerald asked.

"Not a good idea." Seto replied, "These monsters are used to living in the dark. Most likely, they are blind with some ability that lets them know what's happening around them, or they can just see even in the dark."

"If we turn off the lights, the ones who will be at a disadvantage will be us, so make sure to keep it lit at all times," Dante added.

"I understand!" Gerald said.

I can't lie that I was nervous since it would be our first battle inside this cave. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm down.

"Don't go too far from me!" Neku told me out of nowhere.

"AH! Sorry?" I answered her, somewhat confused.

"If you get too far away, I won't be able to protect you." She told me again with a face without expression.

Dante told us not to hesitate to lean on our companions. I wonder if that's what she means.

"Y-You can also lean on me." It was the only thing that occurred to me to answer.

"It is not necessary!" She answered me once more with an expressionless face, then looked back to the front.

I really don't understand Neku. She almost doesn't speak, but when she does, there are times when it's difficult to understand what she means. And it doesn't help that her face never shows expression. In addition, her clothes are just as revealing as the ones that Syvis usually wears, only in another style. Besides, sometimes my sight unintentionally focuses on her breasts which are big but not as big compared to Syvis's, but because of her not-so-high height, it makes them look quite prominent. I really have to control my eyesight, or she'll think I'm a pervert.

"Auch!"

Suddenly I felt a kick on the back of my leg. Shalia was behind me with an angry expression looking to the side, pretending that I wasn't looking at her. Did she see me when I was looking at Neku's breasts? Man...

We kept walking, and as Hisa said, in front of us, there were two creatures that resembled a wolf but walked on two feet. In each of their hands, they had three large claws with which I am sure they could disembowel a person.

As soon as they realized our presence, they made a loud howl that hurt our ears and made us dizzy for a moment. The two ran in our direction at an impressive speed taking advantage of the balance we suffered because of our dizziness.

The first wolf-like creature launched a claw attack which Leona parried with her shield. The sharp sound made by the scratching of the claws against the shield once again hurt our ears. At the same time, the other creature took a great leap, passing over the group behind everyone.

"[Mud Trap]!"

Shalia reacted quickly, and the moment the creature fell to the ground, a mud trap was waiting for him. She created an area on the ground with mud that sank the wolf paws.

"Nice job!" Seto said while, with katana in hand, he ran up to the trapped wolf.

The wolf-like creature, seeing himself trapped, waved its arm with ****, and from its claws came three lines of wind that cut a considerable size stone in front of it. The creature made the same move once more, forcing Seto to dodge.

The three lines of wind were coming against us.

I used "[Water Barrier]"

Creating a big half-sphere of water that rotates at high speed, protecting everyone; however, it was destroyed upon receiving the attack. By that time, Gerald had finished casting, and a stone pillar came out of the ground impaling the creature's side. The wolf-like creature managed to get out of the mud trap, seriously injured, but what awaited was Seto's katana cutting its neck.

While all this was happening in the front after the clash between the wolf's claws and Leona's shield, the creature tried to jump back, but Leona used "[Divine chains]."

A chain of Light that comes out from Leona's stomach and binds the target to her. Dante attacked the wolf with his axe, and the wolf-like creature managed to dodge the first attack; however, Neku fell from the ceiling with a vertical attack of her spear, which cut its left arm and was later split in half by Dante's second attack.

There being no more enemies, Dante paused for a moment, "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah, but what were those things? I had never seen a monster like that, and I've seen many types of monsters in my life." Seto commented.

"I don't know, but it was good that there were only two for our first encounter," Dande said, "Those things in a bigger pack and a place with more space are going to be pretty hard to deal with."

"Looks like that," Seto confirmed.

I have a suspicion that the deeper we go down, the stronger the creatures will be. I feel worried about my group and me, but I can't stop thinking about Syvis. I hope she is okay and monsters or Kase are not giving her much trouble.

Weeks ago, in the church were The Priest, Gabriel, and Neku.

"Soon, the world will know that Darx is a descendant of [Zephia], and his place is on the throne as our goddess [Imris] entrusted to her descendants," The Priest was speaking, "Our duty as servants of our goddess is to support Darx on this difficult path."

"I understand! I will do everything in my power to help in whatever way is needed." Neku reply.

"You are a great disciple! As the representative of our beloved goddess in this world, I can tell you that she is pleased with your devotion."

"Thank you, Priest!"

"In this challenging journey that you will undertake, you have to make sure that nothing happens to Darx. By the time you two return, I'll have set the other disciples in motion, and we'll be rid of the impostor sinners who are on the throne right now, drunk on power, denying Darx what is rightfully his."

"I will give my life if necessary to ensure Darx returns safely. You can count on me!"

"Your devotion softens my heart," the Priest said as he moved closer to Neku and hugged her.

Neku, meanwhile, was standing without moving with an expressionless face as always, almost resembling a statue.

"I know it's hard, but you have to be strong, "As he said that, the Priest's hands that were on Neku's waist descended to her ass, "As followers of the goddess [Imris], we have to lean on each other to survive in these difficult times and-"

Neku interrupted the Priest by pushing him gently with her right palm and moving away from him, "If that's all I'm leaving. Once I return to the capital, I will come here to deliver my report."

Neku then turned around and headed for the exit.

"M-May our goddess [Imris] protect you!" The Priest said, watching Neku walk away.

(Stupid girl! She really thinks that she can reject me. Jaa! Once the kingdom is in my power, with Darx as my puppet, no one will be able to say no to me. You'll see soon.)