Deep Prison Part 5

Gerald kept running after Caroline while yelling her name while I went after him, trying to catch him. We keep running for a couple of minutes, returning the way we came. While I ran after the two of them, I could only think this had already gotten out of hand.

Dante, the party's leader, is injured, and now the group has split, which was the most important thing we didn't want to happen. What confuses me the most is that Caroline is here. Since her betrayal was revealed in the castle months ago, we haven't heard from her. Gerald has been looking for her all this time, and the only person who could make Gerald lose his mind appeared, making him follow her and causing the group to separate. So why has she appeared now and even more so in this place? No matter how I think about it, this seems like a trap, though I can't let Gerald follow her alone.

After running as fast as we could for a couple of minutes along the path we came from, in the distance in one of the wide areas, for some reason, both Gerald and Caroline stopped. I first reached Gerald and grabbed him by the shoulder while he was still looking straight ahead without reacting.

"Gerald, wait, what are... you.."

I wanted to stop Gerald; however, when I saw what he was looking at and the reason why he stopped, I also stood still, looking straight ahead. At first glance, I thought they were two adventurers from one of the guilds, but when I looked at them, it was obvious that they weren't. In fact, they weren't even human or of any race that I had seen before.

In front of me were what I can only think of as two demons. The first was rather tall, with long black hair and two pairs of horns on each side of the face. The skin on his hands was dark, and his nails looked more like claws. The other was a woman who was lying next to the other demon. Her horns were different from the other demon. She only had two horns, one on each side of her head that pointed to the sky, similar to a bull's. In addition to that, she had a pair of wings that looked different from any bird I had seen before. They gave me the impression of being like the wings that a reptile would have. She, for some reason, had a scared expression.

W-What the hell is going on here?

"So, Namy," the male demon spoke, "Usofra refused to tell me what was happening. I hope you can tell me what this is all about."

"He said Namy to Caroline!? Do they know each other?"

"W-What are you doing here, Olval? You were supposed to be following one of the other parties." Caroline said with a nervous voice.

"The Beast-Kind party that I was following is fighting the party you were following right now ." Olval replied, "You should already know that, but I see you are more busy doing something else."

Were they following us? Why? And more than that, why are there demons here? We are close to the southern border. The demons are supposed to still be in their territory, preparing for war.

"I was just doing what we had planned. I was luring them here, away from their group, so Usofra and I could take care of them." Caroline replied, still with a trembling voice.

"Is that true?" Olval asked, looking at Usofra.

"Of course! What else could it be." Usofra replied.

"Oh, I see! However, I can notice that you two were luring someone quite peculiar." Olval said, looking directly in my direction, "It's been so long since I have seen those terrifying red eyes. Just seeing those eyes again makes me tremble at the memory of that treacherous princess."

W-What is he talking about? Which princess is he talking about? During all this time, I have been unable to move or even say anything. Gerald is in the same situation as me. We can both perceive that this demon is powerful, probably really, really powerful. I feel like if we make the wrong move, we...

"What's your name?" Olval asked, looking at me.

"W-What are demons doing here?" I reply.

"Don't humans know that it's not polite to answer a question with another question!? Although now that I remember it, Namy mentioned that your name is Darx."

How does he know my name? Did caroline tell him? But why?

"Tell me, why do you have those eyes? I was sure that line ended long ago with the destruction of [Zrephia]. Are there more like you? If that is the case, things will get complicated." Olval spoke.

I don't know what's happening, but I have to figure out how to get out of here. This is not the time to fight between human guilds. We have to do something about these demons. What is their goal for being in this place so far from the northern border? Are there more demons apart from those two?

"If you're thinking of escaping, don't even try it, or I'll kill you instantly," Olval told me, looking threatening.

His bloodlust is so intense that it is making me feel drained. And I'm not the only one because, looking at Gerald, he's also sweating from his forehead, looking tired. In fact, Caroline and the demon next to him are in the same situation as us. Could it be that they are not his companions? I can't let this go on like this.

I drew my sword and got into battle position, "Gerald, I will take the lead. Support me!"

"W-What?" Gerald muttered, sounding confused.

I can still summon the owl. It will also affect Gerald, but it is better than staying here doing nothing. If all goes well, I could carry Gerald and run away to join the others.

"S-Stupid, don't even try!" Caroline yelled at me.

"What's wrong, Namy? You seem worried about him. Weren't you planning to kill him yourself!?" Olval spoke.

"N-No... I..." Caroline spoke, looking even more scared than she already did.

"The lives of the two of you were spared by the goodwill of the Demon King in not wanting to spill more demon blood than necessary. Whom you used to serve is dead, so remember where your loyalties lie."Olval continued.

"We are loyal to the Demon King!" Usofra spoke while on her knees.

"Really? Well, right now, it doesn't seem like it. And even more so, what interest can you two have in a human? You shouldn't have any reason if it's because of his eyes. You two weren't even alive when the ancient war happened. Or is there something else you're not telling me?"

"W-We have no ulterior motives. What I said earlier is the truth. We just wanted to kill these two." Caroline spoke.

"Go ahead then! Despite the color of his eyes, he doesn't seem like much, and the other one is in the same position. So kill them now." Olval told Namy.

Caroline turned around and stared at me with a nervous expression.

"C-Caroline, what's going on? Why do you know those Demons? Please tell me what happened to you," Gerald, who had been quiet until now, spoke, "You're not like that! I know you are not a traitor! Since you left, I've been searching for you and-"

"Uggg, are you stupid or what? Caroline, Caroline! Don't you know how to say something else?" Caroline said, irritated, "Have you really not realized that I'm not your dear Caroline!?

As soon as she said that, her appearance started to change. Her blonde hair began to turn black. Two wavy horns appeared on her head, black wings appeared on her back, and when she opened her mouth, her tongue looked like a serpent's. In addition to that, her nails also transformed into what looked like sharp claws.

Geral took two steps back and fell to the ground in shock, "W-Who the hell are you?"

"What's wrong? You don't like me anymore? Hahaha! I even let you fuck me when we were in the castle. You shouldn't behave like that, darling." Namy said in a mocking tone.

Caroline, was a demon all this time? How is it possible that no one noticed?

"Lies, it's impossible for Caroline to be a demon! I've known her since we were kids! TELL ME, WHERE IS CAROLINE?" Gerald yelled at her.

"You really are stupid! My name is Namy, and I only took that girl's appearance to infiltrate the castle."

"Then where is the real Caroline?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious that having two girls with the same appearance would give me away!? I ensured she would not be found anywhere when I took her appearance. If you know what I mean."

"You... y-you killed... her...?" Gerald said in shock.

Namy smiled at Gerald's question. Seeing that, knowing the truth enraged Gerald. With tears in his eyes, he stood up, clutching his staff, and shouted, "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

A stone pillar came out from the ground right where Namy was; however, she dodged it by jumping and starting to fly.

"If that's what you want, then I'll send you to meet your dear girlfriend!" Namy said as she flew near the ceiling of the cave.

Moments later, she descended from above against Gerald, he countered by using his earth magic and creating more stone pillars from the floor and ceiling, yet she easily destroyed them with the sharp claws on her hands.

If those claws are capable of slashing through stone like that, if they hit us, they will split us in two. I used my water magic and created my water orbs which I threw at her causing her to divert her attack against Gerald so she could dodge the water orbs. She managed to dodge each attack which caused the water orbs to crash hard against the walls, which caused a lot of dust, and the pillars that Gerald created on the roof fell.

Seeing that all that had obstructed the demons' visibility, I thought it was our chance to flee. I summoned even more orbs of water and made them collide all over the cave; then, I ran over to Gerald and tried to pull him to come with me.

"Get off!" Gerald yelled, "I'm not leaving here until I get ****!"

"If we don't leave now, we are dead!" I yelled at him, "Now come with me and let's meet with the others. We need to regroup so we can do something against the dem-"

"I warned you that I would kill you if you tried to run."

From among the dust, Olval appeared just a few meters from us. His right arm was stretched out, pointing at us, and in his palm, a dark orb was forming. I have no idea what kind of attack that is, but the dust around Olval was being pushed away, clearing the view.

"OLVAL, STOP!" The demon who was on her knees screamed.

"I'm tired of games." Olval said without taking his eyes off us, "After you two, I'll go get the other humans in the cave, and that way, we can do what we came to do in this place."

I had never seen magic like this if that is what it is, but I know we will be finished if it hits us. I activated my water barrier protecting Gerald and me, and he seemed to understand the same as me as he summoned several stone walls.

"Be gone!"

A black ray emerged from Olval's hand, easily destroying the stone walls. When it collided with my water barrier, it was also destroyed instantly, regardless of using all my remaining mana to make it as resistant as possible.

My body was hit by that attack, and after that... everything turned dark.

[Third-Person Point-of-View]

Both Darx and Gerald were hit by the dark energy beam Olval used. Their bodies were thrown violently in different directions. The damage from that attack was reflected on their bodies, with their clothes dirty and torn. Both had blood running from their many wounds and were motionless on the ground. At first glance, it appears that both were dead.

Olval approached Darx's body, "It seems he is still alive. He was not as weak as he seemed if he could withstand that attack."

Olval stretched his hand again, wanting to finish the job, but he stopped before Usofra's scream.

"STOP!"

"Oh, what's wrong? I'm just finishing your job." Olval spoke.

"I'm not going to let you kill him," Usofra said while standing up.

"Are you finally going to tell the truth about what this is all about? Don't expect your lives to be spared again." Olvar said.

"Namy has nothing to do with this," Usofra stated.

"U-Usofra!" Namy said nervously.

(I'll take care of Olval. Darx is still alive. Take him and get him out of here) Usofra told Namy telepathically.

(But there is no way you can beat Olval. He will kill you!)

(The important thing is to use Darx to find her. If she is still alive and we manage to find her, we will have a chance. My life is nothing compared to that)

In an incredibly fast movement, Olval got to where Usofra was, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her up, separating her feet off the ground.

"Uggah"

"Do you think I'm stupid? What were you saying to Namy? Don't think I'll let either of you escape. I'll cut you into small pieces until you tell me what you were planning."

"LET HER GO!" Namy screamed, taking out her claws, ready to attack Olval.

"You're next, so-"

Olval was threatening Namy when he got distracted by something else. Darx was on his feet.

Darx was standing still with his head bowed without making even the slightest movement.

"I'm surprised you can still move," Olval spoke, "If you had stayed still, your **** would have been less painful."

Olval waited for an answer from Darx; however, he remained silent without moving.

Olval let go of Usofra, who was about to faint from lack of air, and walked slowly towards Darx. Olval felt that something was strange but did not know what it was, "If you want to be the first to die, all you have to do is say-"

When Olval was about to reach where Darx was, he suddenly jumped back twice, putting distance between him and Darx.

"W-What was that?" Olval muttered.

Usofra and Namy were confused as to what was going on. Olval's confident countenance suddenly looked scared.

(W-What just happened? For an instant, I felt that if I had not moved away from him, I would have been killed) Olval thought, (Was it my imagination? He never moved, and with those wounds, it shouldn't take long for him to die)

Olval stretched out his arm and prepared the same attack he used before creating an orb of dark energy in his hand. But at that moment, Darx raised his head.

It felt like the gravity of that place had increased multiple times in an instant. Namy and Usofra could not remain standing and fell to the ground, while Olval, with a scared expression, could barely stand up. The cave was a dark place, but the lights that illuminated the place turned gray, and the entire cave began to shake violently. Rocks fell from the ceiling, seeming that soon the cave would collapse. In the distance, it was possible to hear the sound of the cave monsters running and making noises trying to escape from the danger they felt.

Olval raised his head with difficulty to try to see Darx's face, yet all he could see was a pair of red eyes that glowed intensely in the background of the grayness of the place and the dust. Also, Darx's face seemed abnormally relaxed, almost like he was sleepwalking.

"W-What the hell are you?" Olval remembered seeing those same eyes long ago, though the feeling was completely different.

The presence in front of him was terrifying, and for that same fear, he decided to attack Darx. In that split second, Olval decided that this was his only way to survive. With both hands, he created the most powerful dark energy orb he could make using all his energy.

At that very moment, an owl emerged from among the shadows of Darx. The owl flew to the top of the cave, and opening its wings, all the energy that Olval had accumulated in his final attack was being absorbed. And not just his energy. The owl was also absorbing the mana from Namy and Usofra, who were rolling on the ground in pain from feeling their mana being stolen.

Olval, realizing what had happened, decided to run. Olval was not a weak demon. Despite not being one of the demon king's generals, he is considered among the elite. He has lived a long life and fought many battles for which running like this was the most humiliating thing he had done in his life, but the terror that Darx was causing him was too much.

Unfortunately for Olval, he couldn't escape. A black chain that came from Darx's body held him preventing him from advancing further. That skill is the same one Leona uses; however, unlike hers, which is a chain of white light, the chain that comes out of Darx's body is dark and emanates some kind of equally dark energy.

"W-What is this?" Olval asked, confused when he saw the chain.

The chain shrank, pulling him violently towards Darx.

"NOOO!"

Seeing his situation, Olval could only widen his claws and hope that he could counter Darx that way, but when he was a short distance from him, all he felt was a cut on his neck.

Olval saw Darx looking like he hadn't moved at all from the start, with the same expressionless face. He was also able to see his body fall to his knees in front of Darx while his head separated from his body was spinning in the air until it fell to the ground.

(W-What just happened?) Olval thought, confused.

He had everything under control a minute ago, and now he is about to die. In his last moment of consciousness, he looked up and saw the owl.

(That... owl... I've seen it... before..., I'm... sure...)

A faint smile formed on his face, and a tear came from one of his eyes.